Not Hungary: Stefanishyna names key opponents of Ukraine's NATO invitation

Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna said that the United States and Germany are the key opponents of extending an invitation to Ukraine to join NATO. According to her, they are the ones who do not create opportunities for the development of this dialog.

She said this while speaking at the Kyiv Security Forum. Even before the NATO Summit in Vilnius in July 2023, Ukraine offered its partners a format of an invitation that would be legally binding and guarantee NATO membership.

However, according to Stefanishyna, the allies themselves "do not believe in NATO right now" and do not see it as a platform to conduct any discussions about Ukraine's security guarantees. They do not believe that NATO can offer Ukraine mechanisms for its protection or political support.

The 75th-anniversary summit of NATO leaders is scheduled to take place in Washington in July. However, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, all the dialogue with the allies and NATO headquarters boils down to urging Ukraine to "behave calmly" at the summit.

"The only thing that makes me happy: Our perception of summits and the perception of allied leaders is slightly different. Allies do not prepare the most important decisions for summits. A summit is networking, relatively speaking. Therefore, we are urged not to spoil the atmosphere," Stefanishyna said.

She also noted that the decision to invite Ukraine can be made at any time, and there is no need to wait for a meeting at the level of leaders. However, there is no one to conduct a dialog with.

The Vice Prime Minister explained that this does not mean that there is no support, as at the time of the Vilnius Summit, 29 NATO member states supported Ukraine's invitation to NATO.

"And 9 of them – the entire eastern flank – blocked all other decisions. And nothing could break them, no threats. But there are key opponents of this decision – the United States and Germany, who do not even allow this dialogue to develop," Stefanishyna said.

As a reminder, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever before. At the same time, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin achieved the opposite with his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, one of the goals of which was to prevent the expansion of the NATO bloc.

Earlier, US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said that the essence of bilateral security agreements between Ukraine and the US is to ensure Ukraine's defense until the country becomes a part of NATO.

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