U.S. envoy puts emphasis on Ukraine NATO outlook

Ukraine can still participate in U.S.-led military blocks and in an accelerated time frame, says Washington Ambassador to Kieu.

If Ukraine participates in a US-led NATO military block, it may participate in a swift procedure-US Ambassador Kieu Christina Kubien said without implementing the Membership Action Plan (MAP).

The United States and NATO said they are aiming to make Finland and Sweden the latest members of the alliance. “as soon as” After two Scandinavian countries announced plans to participate in Russia’s military operations in Ukraine.

Inside her interview On Monday, along with Ukraine’s outlet Europe Pravda, Kubien was thinking about the possibility of Finland skipping the MAP stage while being included in NATO and insisted on it. “Ukraine can also skip the MAP.”

The membership action plan is a mechanism for future members to tailor their political, economic and military systems to NATO requirements. All 16 countries that have joined the block since the Cold War have passed the plan. It usually took more than a year.

However, Kvien said that MAP is not mandatory, so Ukraine and other countries may be exempt from MAP performance if they already meet most of NATO’s requirements.

“Russia’s aggression has not changed our thinking about maintaining doors. [to NATO membership] Open for all applicants including Ukraine. It’s not impossible because it depends on your allies. “ The ambassador pointed out.

Kieu’s desire to participate in NATO was chosen by Russia as one of the main reasons for launching a military operation against Ukraine in late February.

Moscow states that it wants its neighbors to be demilitarized and neutral. This means that you will never be a member of a US-led military block.

On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained how Sweden and Finland’s NATO members differ from Ukraine’s participation in the alliance from a Russian perspective.

“There are no territorial disputes with Finland or Sweden. Ukraine could become a member of NATO, in which case Russia would have had territorial disputes with the countries participating in the alliance. The entire continent.” Peskov mentioned the situation around Crimea, which overwhelmingly voted to split with Ukraine and become part of Russia in the 2014 referendum, but nevertheless. “Occupied territory” According to Kieu.

During the conflict in Ukraine, NATO rejected President Volodymyr Zelensky’s call to put his boots on the ground or impose a no-fly zone on the country for fear of a massive conflict with Moscow.

However, the United States, Britain, Canada, and some EU countries have been actively supplying Kyiv with weapons and ammunition and training Ukrainian troops.