Ukraine says it has not abandoned its plan to join NATO

vice Prime Minister Ukraine In charge of Europe and Europe-Atlantic Integration, Olga Stefanishyna said Ukraine “doesn’t give up” on its intention to join NATO, and criticized the US-led bloc for its “hesitancy”.

In an interview with El Pais newspaper on May 3, Stefanishyna claimed that NATO’s reluctance to admit Ukraine, which received an invitation from the organization in 2008, had led to the current military conflict. with Russia.

“Finland and Sweden will become a NATO member as soon as possible. But I can say with certainty that if these two countries wait another 15 years to decide to become NATO members, they will also fall into a state of war,” said the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, referring to the issues. The recent decision by the governments of Finland and Sweden to review their longstanding policy of non-alignment in the context of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

The deputy prime minister added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had the “right to criticize” “disappointing” messages from NATO leaders.

Russia has long viewed NATO’s eastward expansion as a direct threat to its security interests, and considers Ukraine’s attempt to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as one of its reasons. The main reason why Moscow decided to launch a military operation in February.

Ukraine has repeatedly asked NATO countries to implement a no-fly zone over its territory or provide fighter jets, but were refused, prompting President Zelensky to criticize. Earlier, Kiev also signaled that it would give up its ambitions to join NATO and would agree to a neutral status that Russia supports in exchange for security guarantees, but this has not yet been formally announced to the government. now.

Deputy Prime Minister Stefanishyna also revealed that Kiev will submit the second part of the questionnaire on joining the European Union this week.

Stefanishyna urged Western countries to prioritize “strategic” decisions over “tactical” decisions by imposing the toughest possible sanctions on Russia.

“Every time we hear a statement from the European leaders about the decision to pay for the purchase Russian gas in rubles or are not ready to refuse their gas, we consider it a tactical loss,” said Deputy Prime Minister Stefanishyna.

Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine at the end of February, after accusing Kiev of failing to fulfill the terms of the Minsk agreement, first signed in 2014 and eventually Moscow’s recognition of the the self-proclaimed Donbass republics Donetsk and Lugansk. The Minsk agreement brokered by Germany and France was designed to give the breakaway regions special status in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country and will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian attack is completely unprovoked and rejects claims it is planning to retake the two republics in the Donbass by force.

Western nations responded to Moscow’s actions by imposing harsh sanctions. The Russian government, which considers these measures illegal and unreasonable, has retaliatory sanctions against “unfriendly countries”. Requiring payment for gas purchases in rubles is one such measure.