The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has responded to a media publication about Ukraine's prospects of joining NATO and stressed that Ukraine is not a problem but an advantage for the Alliance, Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko has said on Facebook.
He noted that recently, some foreign media have been publishing articles that attempt to weaken international support for Ukraine, change the focus around expected counter-offensives, promote "alternative" peace plans, and question Ukraine's course towards NATO membership.
The authors of such articles usually refer to comments from anonymous sources, the authenticity of which cannot be verified.
"We noticed a similar publication from the German Press Agency (DPA). In the context of preparations for the NATO summit in Vilnius, German journalists, citing unnamed interlocutors, argue that steps towards NATO membership could distract from "much more important support for Ukraine". Moreover, according to DPA, new commitments to NATO could push Russia to a more aggressive war. The agency goes on to conclude that progress is likely to be possible only after Ukraine makes progress in countering Russian aggression," Nikolenko said.
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He stressed that such arguments are a set of erroneous judgements that have long since lost their relevance.
First, it is true that we have important battles ahead of us, but Ukraine has already achieved impressive success in defence. Second, we have heard arguments before about the need to refrain from taking steps that could allegedly "provoke" Russia to new aggression.
"As Minister Dmytro Kuleba has already emphasised, the only thing that provokes Russia is uncertainty. I would like to remind you that in 2014, when Russia occupied Crimea and started a war in the east, Ukraine was officially a non-aligned country. Ukraine's non-alignment did not help deter Russia from its aggression. Diplomatic efforts by Ukraine, France and Germany within the Minsk process also failed to prevent a full-scale Russian invasion. This is because Moscow's goal is the complete destruction of Ukraine. Instead, progress on the path to Ukraine's accession to NATO will force Russia to curb its aggression," Nikolenko said.
Third, international support for Ukraine in countering the Russian occupiers does not contradict, but rather complements the process of gaining NATO membership.
"Therefore, in response to the anonymous sources' arguments, we emphasise that Ukraine's accession to NATO is in the interests of the Alliance itself and call on our partners to show leadership. Minister Dmytro Kuleba has clearly outlined Ukraine's expectations: at the Vilnius Summit, Ukraine expects to receive a commitment from its allies that will pave the way for our accession to NATO. The time for such a step is long overdue," the Foreign Ministry spokesman added.