Ukraine’s path to NATO may turn out to be more difficult than to the European Union.

This opinion was expressed by Oleksandr Korniyenko, the First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine at the 15th annual Kyiv Security Forum, founded by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s “Open Ukraine” Foundation.

According to him, the integration of Ukraine into the North Atlantic Alliance depends primarily on international partners and the vision that the member states of the Alliance hold.

“Vis-à-vis our Euro-Atlantic integration, it seems to me that the situation is not the faithful mirror-reflection, but slightly different. A lot depends now on the vision held by the partners. However, of great importance remain our joint participation and unity, as recently demonstrated at the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Alliance,” said the parliamentarian.

“Ukraine now takes the central place at all international platforms, not just simply heard. That was obvious both at the G7 Summit and the Arab League Countries meeting. This is a novelty development. And without unity it is impossible to interact with the Arab countries,” Oleksandr Kornienko stressed.

He added that 95% of Ukrainians want to see their country as a member of the European Union, therefore the Parliament must meet the membership criteria by 105%, not just 99%.

Noteworthy, the 15th annual Kyiv security forum “For Our and Your Freedom/ Fighting for NATO” will be held on May 25-26, 2023, with the participation of well-known international figures. In particular, at the Forum, the KSF Security Council will be established and a policy document will be adopted with recommendations for the NATO summit in Vilnius to be held this July.