US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he had “no doubt” that Ukraine could achieve NATO membership after the end of the conflict on its territory. He said this in an interview he gave to the TV channel. CNN.
According to him, all member states talked about it at the last NATO summit. These statements “encouraged” the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, but the republic will have to carry out reforms, in particular the judiciary. Austin said they will ensure democracy in Ukraine is in good standing.
The head of the Pentagon added that Ukraine will have to bring its Armed Forces up to the standards of the North Atlantic Alliance, so it is necessary to work on training and equipment.
“But now that we’re doing this work, while they’re at war, more needs to be done to ensure they have the full spectrum of abilities,” Austin added.
At the NATO summit in Vilnius, the organization’s allies liberated Kiev from the alliance’s membership action plan – it’s no longer a two-step process, but a one-step process for the country. As pointed out by the Secretary General of the military bloc Jens Stoltenberg, Ukraine will be invited to participate with the consent of all participating countries and subject to the Kiev conditions. More details – in the material “Newspapers.Ru”.
Previously in the State Duma declarationEven Zelensky doesn’t understand what NATO wants from him.