Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Kuleba has again called for his country to join NATO after the end of the war. This is the only way to prevent Russian aggression against Europe, he said in an interview and warned Berlin of a blockade.
According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Kiev is fighting stubborn prejudices and misunderstandings about the consequences of his country joining NATO. NATO membership will not lead to another or major war with Russia, Kuleba said in an interview with “Bild”, “Welt” and “Politico” in Kiev on Friday evening.
Rather, joining NATO is “the road to peace”. Russia will not dare to attack Ukraine again if it is a member of NATO. Ukraine, on the other hand, will relieve Germany and other western NATO countries in defending the eastern flank, Kuleba promised: “We will shoulder this burden.”
No joining in war
According to Kuleba, nobody in Ukraine expects accession to take place during the Russian war of aggression. “But after the war, it would be suicidal for Europe not to accept Ukraine as a NATO member.”
A Ukraine outside of NATO would mean that war was still an option. The only way to close the door on Russian aggression against Europe and the Euro-Atlantic region at large is for Ukraine to join NATO, he said.
Kuleba warns federal government before blockage
With a view to the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania in around two weeks, he warned the German government not to obstruct his country’s path to the alliance. He called on Berlin not to repeat the mistake “Chancellor Merkel made in Bucharest in 2008 when she vigorously opposed any progress towards Ukraine’s NATO membership.”
That decision opened the door for Putin’s invasion of Georgia and eventually the illegal annexation of Crimea. At the 2008 summit, the NATO countries promised Ukraine membership, but then backed down out of consideration for Russia. Angela Merkel and France’s then President Nicolas Sarkozy blocked calls from other NATO partners for rapid accession.
According to Kuleba, if Ukraine had already been a member of the alliance, the Russian annexation of Crimea and the war of aggression against Ukraine that Russia began in February 2022 would not have happened.