Today at 17:59
Photos President Zelensky Press Office
The visit of the North Atlantic Council’s members to Ukraine is a vivid demonstration of solidarity with the country, as stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky while opening a session of the NATO-Ukraine Commission in Kyiv.
“We thank the Allies for their continued position in support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea. We are grateful for NATO’s insistent demands on Russia to stop aggressive actions and withdraw troops from the occupied territories of Ukraine,” Zelensky said.
He emphasized that Ukraine was a consistent and efficient partner of the Alliance, which would continue to contribute to the security in the Euro-Atlantic area and beyond.
According to him, he highly appreciates the fact that, during last year’s Summit in Brussels, the leadership of the Alliance’s countries confirmed the decision of the Bucharest Summit 2008 that Ukraine should be a member of NATO.
“For our part, we understand that only effective reforms are the key to our Alliance membership. We are committed to transforming Ukraine according to NATO standards and that is the focus of our joint efforts,” he said.
Zelensky stated that Ukraine was willing to deepen its cooperation with NATO to strengthen defense capabilities, increase the country’s resilience to modern threats and interaction with the Alliance’s structures.
“We are grateful that the Alliance continues to provide us with political and practical assistance, especially in reforming the security and defense sectors. A good foundation for this is the comprehensive NATO assistance package approved in 2016. We are hopeful that it will be supplemented, updated and expanded with additional projects and activities,” he said.
In addition, Ukraine counts on the acceleration of the process of achieving interoperability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with NATO forces.
“We suggest considering Ukraine’s accession to the NATO Enhanced Opportunities Program substantively. I am sure that Ukraine is ready to move to this new level of cooperation,” Zelensky said.
Ukraine is very interested in enhancing its interaction with NATO to restore stability and security in the Black Sea region.
“We expect that Ukraine’s proposal as regards practical steps on the implementation of the NATO Black Sea Package adopted in April this year will be supported. We need to jointly strengthen the capabilities of the Ukrainian Navy in this important region for us,” he said.
To bolster the possibility of membership, Ukraine is ready for closer cooperation with NATO, further implementation of systemic reforms in the defense sector and considers the possibility of joining the Alliance Membership Action Plan.
“We are willing to cooperate more closely with the Alliance and accelerate preparations for NATO membership. Keeping the possibility of Ukraine joining the NATO Membership Action Plan on the agenda, we are ready to prove by practical work today that Ukraine deserves such format of relations with the Alliance. We hope that our progress in the implementation of NATO principles, norms and standards, as well as the new format of our engagement with the Alliance, will be recognized in further political decisions of the Allies,” said Zelensky.
He emphasized that the Ukrainian authorities were focused on structural reforms, strengthening of democratic institutions and the rule of law, modernization of the security and defense sector.
“We are grateful for your practical assistance in this. This is a comprehensive reform of the defense forces management system, logistics and standardization system, medical support in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We want to expand programs for the training of civilian personnel in the defense sector, improvement of the training of our military and improvement of the mine clearance opportunities,” Zelensky emphasized.
According to him, the parties had also touched upon difficult issues at today’s meeting. Zelensky assured Soltenberg and others in attendance that the fight against corruption and the development of civil society remained the priorities of his work as President and the work of the Ukrainian government.
“Regarding the protection of the rights of national minorities, we assured the Allies that Ukraine is complying with all the recommendations of the Venice Commission on the Law on Education. Moreover, six of the seven recommendations have already been implemented by the Ukrainian side,” he stressed.
Zelensky noted that Ukraine was actually located on the southeast flank of the Alliance and was an integral part of the Euro-Atlantic security space.
“I was pleased to hear that NATO recognizes the professionalism of the Ukrainian military and appreciates our contribution to cooperation.”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that the Alliance’s members upheld Ukraine’s territorial integrity and would never recognize the attempt of Russia to illegally annex Crimea. They also condemn Russia’s aggressive actions in the Black Sea region.
“The Allies call on Russia to return Ukraine’s vessels seized last year and provide free access to the Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov,” he stressed.
Soltenberg stated that all Allies supported Ukraine.
“We provide political, practical assistance and support the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Jens Stoltenberg said.
