Estonia becomes 10th country to sign declaration of support for Ukraine's NATO membership
Kaja Kallas and Volodymyr Zelenskyy after signing the joint declaration of Ukraine and Estonia, April 24, 2024 (Photo:Igor Zhovkva via Facebook)
Estonia has affirmed its official support for Ukraine’s NATO accession, in a joint declaration signed by Estonian PM Kaja Kallas and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the PM’s visit to Zhytomyr on April 24.
“The Declaration emphasizes the readiness to cooperate to bring Ukraine closer to NATO membership, especially in the context of the NATO Summit in Vilnius in July, and the commitment to coordinate joint actions to ensure Ukraine's security guarantees even before our membership (in the alliance),” Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Ihor Zhovkva, said in a Facebook post.
Zhovkva reminded that in addition to Estonia, the first ten countries to officially support Ukraine's NATO membership include the Czech Republic, Belgium, Montenegro, Lithuania, Poland, Italy, Latvia, Iceland, and Slovenia, all of whom have signed similar declarations.
“The ultimate goal is clear and simple – to accelerate Ukraine's full membership,” he added.
“Meanwhile, we are already working on establishing effective security guarantees that we must receive from alliance member states even before joining NATO."
The Joint Declaration between Estonia and Ukraine also acknowledged Estonia as Ukraine's key partner. Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Estonia has provided more than 1% of its GDP – or almost two-thirds of its national military budget – in security assistance. Additionally, Estonia spearheaded the expedited supply of 1 million 155mm artillery ammunition to Ukraine, supported by other EU member states.
During the meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Kyiv on April 20, Zelenskyy said that there was "no objective barrier" to inviting Ukraine to NATO and that security guarantees were needed now. Stoltenberg himself commented that "(Ukraine) has a rightful place in NATO."
According to a March IRI poll, 82% of Ukrainians support NATO membership – nearly a record level.
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