Kyiv Security Forum says clear path to NATO membership for Ukraine at Vilnius Summit is only option
Kyiv Security Forum says clear path to NATO membership for Ukraine at Vilnius Summit is only option (Photo:mil.gov.ua)
At the upcoming summit in Vilnius, the North Atlantic Alliance should make a political decision to offer Ukraine membership in NATO and start accession negotiations, according to the Kyiv Security Forum's comprehensive position paper entitled “Fighting for NATO”, which was presented during the 15th Annual Meeting of the Kyiv Security Forum on May 25.
"The main obstacle on Ukraine's path to NATO for many years has been the lack of political will on both sides," the document says.
The KSF emphasized that the decision of many political leaders to postpone Ukraine's accession to an indefinite future instead of accepting it, which would have been a historic step and stopped Russia's growing geopolitical and military ambitions, was a "tragic mistake."
"The war changed everything," the document reads.
“Ukraine's national resistance against Russia's aggression has made a real breakthrough in the Alliance's security thinking. Ukraine has proved that it is a pillar of common security.”
The authors argue that now nothing can replace Ukraine's membership in NATO — "no special formats or temporary security arrangements".
The Kyiv Security Forum emphasizes the need to move quickly from words to actions and hopes that the NATO summit in Vilnius will be a turning point on the issue of Ukraine's membership in the Alliance.
The document calls on the allies to make a political decision to offer Ukraine membership and start accession negotiations. It also calls for negotiations into providing Ukraine security guarantees similar to those enjoyed by NATO members under the Article 5 collective defense clause – even before Ukraine joins NATO.
"Without unambiguous clarity on Ukraine's accession to the Alliance, we risk an endless war in Europe, and the issue of Ukraine's membership in NATO, instead of becoming a fundamental element of the new European security architecture, will again become a subject of bargaining during political negotiations," the document says.
The full text of the position paper is available here.
The Kyiv Security Forum, founded by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation, is the main platform of the state for discussing issues of war and peace, national and global security.
The Forum's partners are the Atlantic Council, NATO Information and Documentation Center, National Democratic Institute, Ukrainian Women's Congress, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and Euro-Atlantic Course NGO.
NV is the official media partner of the KSF.
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