Kuleba: We call on NATO to recognize in Vilnius that NATO needs Ukraine as much as Ukraine needs NATO
In Vilnius, Ukraine calls on NATO to recognize that Ukraine needs NATO just as Ukraine needs the Alliance, and also that Ukraine is an integral part of Euro-Atlantic security and should be invited to join NATO right now, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
“We are not seeking immediate membership. We will not drag NATO into this war. We have never requested foreign troops on the ground in Ukraine. With the generous assistance of our partners, we will defeat Russia on our own. This war is ours to fight. But the next war can be avoided by admitting Ukraine into NATO. What we are therefore requesting is a strong step toward Ukraine’s future membership,” Kuleba said in a comment for Foreign Policy.
According to the minister, in Vilnius, Ukraine calls on NATO to recognize "three obvious things."
“First, NATO needs Ukraine as much as Ukraine needs NATO; second, Ukraine is an inseparable part of Euro-Atlantic security; and third, Ukraine should be invited now to join NATO, with membership taking effect when conditions are met,” the head of the Foreign Ministry noted.
Kuleba is convinced that Ukraine's invitation will not provoke Russian President Vladimir Putin, but on the contrary, will deter him from future aggression.
“When confronted with strength, he invariably backs down, as all of us saw when the Wagner Group marched toward Moscow. With Putin weakened by the mutiny, there is a window of opportunity to invite Ukraine to join NATO. If NATO leaders are not yet ready to grant an invitation in Vilnius, they should state clearly when they will be. Membership has formal requirements, but an invitation does not. All that is required is strategic foresight and political will,” the Foreign Ministry said.
He also said that when Ukraine wins the war and joins NATO, “it will be Ukrainian brigades—not U.S. or German ones—guarding NATO’s eastern flank.”
“No other NATO member has our experience and skills, including how to react to and repel an invasion within hours. That resolves one of the alliance’s most serious issues—rapid response time—while also boosting collective security,” the minister noted.
