Ukraine should receive invitation to join NATO at July summit – former Secretary-General
Ukraine should receive an invitation to
join NATO at the upcoming July summit in Vilnius, former NATO Secretary-General
Anders
Fogh Rasmussen said in a comment to Polish news agency PAP on June 23.
“We must help Ukraine build a strong army so that it can repel any attack by Russia in the future,” said Rasmussen.
“I am optimistic about security guarantees: we can get signatures on this issue before the Vilnius Summit. On the other hand, I believe that we should invite Ukraine to NATO during the Vilnius Summit, although it may be difficult to achieve consensus, unanimity among all members of the Alliance.”
He noted that this would be the first time in NATO’s history that a country that is effectively at war is invited to the organization.
Rasmussen emphasized that it is "very dangerous" to suggest that security guarantees cannot be given to Ukraine because they should only be given to NATO member states.
"If we condition Ukraine's accession to the alliance on the cessation of hostilities, we will give Russian President Putin a reason never to stop them," he said.
The former Secretary-General added that practical decisions regarding the application of Article 5 must be made before Ukraine joins NATO.
"Where there is political will, there will be political decisions," he concluded.
Ukraine expects to receive “clear signals” about its membership aspirations at the July 11-12 NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said there would be a “signal,” but not a formal invitation to join the Alliance.
According to Politico, five weeks before the summit, Western allies have not yet taken a unified position on the security guarantees requested by Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Western countries will offer Ukraine a security model based on Israel's, sans full membership. This will make it easier to transfer weapons, advanced technology, and will be a step towards joining the Alliance.
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