Yesterday at 23:53
Of all European countries, Ukraine is closest to meeting the requirements for membership in the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO). This was stated on the air of the FREEDOM TV channel by the former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General of the Reserve Ihor Romanenko.
“There is not a single NATO member country that would fully meet the requirements for joining the Alliance, and there are more than 2,000 standards. A significant part of the Alliance members have less progress in meeting these requirements than Ukraine. The history of admission to NATO shows that the issue is not so much in compliance with formal requirements, but in the position of the applicant state for membership,” he stressed.
That is, it takes into account not only the readiness for participation in NATO of the armed forces or defense forces of the applicant country, but of the entire state as a whole.
“Ukraine has been demonstrating a desire for a full-fledged alliance with NATO for several decades, but the implementation of this decision has been pushed back. Although it is not only about joining NATO, but also on the issue of security in Europe and in the world,” Romanenko said.
The expert believes that the leaders of the Alliance member countries, European and world leaders often lag behind in assessing the situation in the field of global security.
“In 2014, Ukraine was pushed to the point that it is not worth confronting the Russian Federation, that all issues will be resolved peacefully. That is why we had problems that escalated into a full-scale war,” he said.
Romanenko noted the importance of the decision of the Ukrainian leadership to apply for NATO membership in an expedited manner.
“The leadership of the country showed an initiative, which is supported by the majority of Ukrainians, that the process of joining NATO should be accelerated. Which was legally formalized by the signing of the relevant document,” emphasized Ihor Romanenko.
September 30, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky signed an application for the country’s accession to NATO in an expedited manner.
