There is no need to be afraid of Putin: Ukraine wants to become a NATO member despite the opinion of the Russian Federation
NATO should not be afraid to anger Russian President Vladimir Putin by accepting Ukraine into its fold.
Such a statement was made by the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Affairs, Anna Gopko, during the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Parliament of Georgia, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“There is no need to be afraid that we will anger Putin and not give Ukraine membership in NATO. We need to take bolder responsibility. If we analyze since 2004 those 10 countries that became members of the alliance: in 2004 - Lithuania, Estonia, then Croatia, Albania - in 2009, in 2017 - Montenegro. Let's analyze the potential of Ukraine, Ukraine with 5% of GDP in the security and defense sector, with 260 thousand soldiers in our Armed Forces of Ukraine. We can already become a strong partner for NATO, we are already on the eastern flank of NATO defending the alliance,” the politician believes.
Gopko insists that it is not Ukraine that needs membership in the North Atlantic Alliance, but on the contrary - NATO needs Ukraine, as it has unique experience in hybrid warfare.
“The main message is that NATO should regard Ukraine’s potential membership as a strengthening of the alliance. We don’t ask: “Take us, we need it.” We are precisely saying that Ukraine’s membership in the alliance will strengthen global security. Let's come out from the position that we are not a victim, but we are a unique partner who has our own contribution. Our contribution is unique experience in countering the hybrid threat,” she said.
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