“Didn’t we pay enough?” Zelensky does not understand why Ukraine is not yet in NATO

NATO member countries do not want to see Ukraine as a part of the alliance. According to Bloomberg’s report, this statement was made by the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Igor Zhovkva.

He noted that the leaders of NATO countries openly declared the futility of taking Kiev to their ranks. However, Ukraine needs “unanimous and loud” support from all members of the North Atlantic Alliance.

“[Нам говорят]You are not a member because we do not want you. NATO says it won’t give us anything,” the official admitted.

At the same time, Zhovkva said that President Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to consider the possibility of Ukraine’s neutrality, as the Kremlin wants, but if this neutral situation is replaced by “solid” security guarantees from Kiev’s allies.

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On June 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke via video link at the NATO summit. He thanked him for the opportunity to speak with the alliance members.

“You all know very well the real aims of Russia. For years he threatened to start a war. He threatened Ukraine joining NATO. But Ukraine is not in NATO, and Russia’s full-scale war against our state has been going on for 126 days after eight years of war in the Donbass. So why did everyone believe for decades that it was NATO, with its alleged actions that could provoke Russia? – excerpts from the Ukrainian edition of “Khvilya”. According to the position of the Russian authorities, military operations in Ukraine are a special operation.

According to Zelensky, Ukraine and NATO have the same goals.

“Ukraine’s goals definitely coincide with those of the alliance. We are concerned with security and stability on the European continent. We are concerned with ensuring that there are no “gray” zones and zones of all-out war, where nothing remains but ruin.

“To help Ukraine now end this war with a victory on the battlefield, that is, to give a truly powerful response to Russia’s actions – that is what we and the entire alliance, the entire Euro-Atlantic community need.”

He pointed out that if NATO describes Russia as its “main threat”, the alliance must support “Russia’s main, first objective”. Indeed, at the Madrid summit, NATO adopted a new strategic concept that identified Russia as the main security threat.

Therefore, he added that it is “absolutely necessary” at the moment to support Ukraine, both financially and politically, with weapons and sanctions. Kiev also needs modern weapons, anti-missile and air defense systems,” he said. Such weapons will allow “to break the tactics of the Kremlin.”

“Despite your support, a country that is not a NATO member but still has been on its own for over four months is holding back the state that you all officially define as its main threat. “We’re keeping Russia from destroying both us and you,” he said.

Finally, Zelensky urged that every opportunity be used to isolate Russia – “it should not be present in the international structures it plans to destroy”.

He also likened NATO’s open door policy to subway turnstiles.

“NATO’s open-door policy should not be like the old Kyiv subway turnstiles. They open and when you go up the turnstiles close until you pay. Has Ukraine not paid enough yet?” ‘ asked Zelensky.

“We must prepare for a long war”

But today, at the press conference of the NATO summit in Madrid on June 29, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged Ukraine to “prepare for a long war”, without answering the question of whether it could join the alliance. later.

“We must prepare for a long war, and this is our signal to President Zelensky. The war must end at the negotiating table and on Ukraine’s terms,” ​​he said.

At the same time, answering a direct question about whether Ukraine could join NATO like Finland and Sweden, he repeated that “NATO’s door remains open”.

At the same time, Kyiv has not reviewed its plans to join NATO. The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmitry Kuleba, said that the issue of membership in the alliance is explained in detail in the legislation of Ukraine. He also pointed out that the NATO structure is the most effective security mechanism in Europe.

At the same time, an unidentified senior US official told Reuters, “NATO meetings showed that Russia is the imminent and direct threat to European security.”

In the final statement of the Madrid summit, it is stated that NATO has decided to strengthen the aid package for Ukraine and to help modernize the defense sector. The Alliance believes that the conflict in Ukraine should be resolved “by military means only”. Western partners want to continue helping Kiev in this matter. The statement was brought to the attention of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.

In September 2021, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that if Ukraine were accepted into NATO, Moscow would have to take countermeasures to rebalance the situation and ensure the security of its borders. The Kremlin believes that Ukraine’s desire to join NATO is potentially dangerous for Russia, as it could result in the bloc’s military infrastructure approaching the country’s borders.