Currently, Ukraine has claimed that its main goal is to obtain meaningful security guarantees. However, Kyiv’s newly-appointed United Nations ambassador Andrey Melnik, has said that these security measures are no longer specifically tied to the country’s NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) membership.
This is a pivot for Ukraine, since a bone of contention since the onslaught of the conflict was NATO membership. Melnik made the remarks in an interview published by Germany’s Berliner Morgenpost on Friday.
War Approaches: Ukraine Applies For “Accelerated” NATO Membership
Much of the West has been apprehensive when it comes to Ukraine’s desire for NATO membership, understanding that that political move would push Russia much closer to the aggression it’s constantly warning Ukraine’s Western allies of.
According to a report by RT, since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, the leadership in Kiev has consistently named accession to the United States-led military bloc as one of its top priorities. Russia has, in turn, singled out the threat of NATO military infrastructure appearing on its Western border as one of the reasons it initiated its special operation against the neighboring nation in the first place.
It was only a few months ago that the United States claimed that Ukraine would be joining NATO, a move that had Russia threatening to embroil the bloc in the conflict and start World War 3.
Are You Ready For WW3? U.S. Says Ukraine Will Join NATO
While Melinik did say that NATO membership is “on the table” still for Ukraine, he admitted that security guarantees would be a temporary solution important to Kyiv’s ruling class.
“NATO membership remains on the table for Ukraine,” Melnik said. He went on to clarify that “nevertheless, the question of security guarantees as an interim solution is central to us.”
The diplomat stressed that any such arrangements must go beyond mere political pledges akin to the ones given to Kiev under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum. Under the accord, Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for security guarantees provided by the U.S., the United Kingdom, and Russia. –RT
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