News -

News centre

"The Ukrainian Parliament should unite and legislatively support all the necessary changes for Ukraine's integration into NATO," Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk

Information Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat
Published on 14 June 2021, at 11:21

Ukraine's membership in NATO should be determined solely by compliance with standards and levels of readiness, and not by a desire not to irritate the aggressor, who, feeling weak and uncertain, acts more brazenly. This was emphasized by Deputy Chairperson of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk during her speech at the Kyiv Youth Security Forum.

She reminded that on February 7, 2019, the Verkhovna Rada voted to amend the Constitution, which consolidated Ukraine's strategic course for membership in the European Union and NATO. According to her, this strategic goal must be unshakable and inviolable for all political forces of Ukraine.

Olena Kondratiuk also quoted paragraph 23 of the NATO Bucharest Summit Declaration of 3 April 2008, which read, "NATO welcomes the Euro-Atlantic aspirations for NATO membership of Ukraine and Georgia. Today we declare that these countries will become members of NATO." The declaration also stated that, "the MAP will be the next step for Ukraine and Georgia on the path to membership. Today, we clearly state that we support these countries' requests for MAP."

The Vice Speaker noted that 13 years have passed since then, and Ukraine is still actually facing the door that cannot be opened.

She also believes that Ukraine has paid a very high price to dispel myths about the impossibility of being a member of the Alliance for the country that has military conflicts on its territory.

According to Olena Kondratiuk, historical justice must be restored, and Ukraine and Georgia must soon receive the Membership Action Plan and become full members of NATO.

As a representative of the opposition, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament also called on the Ukrainian authorities to actively move to carry out the necessary reforms.

The Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada also sees significant potential in advancing Ukraine to NATO through the active development of inter-parliamentary diplomacy, in particular with Allies and, above all, with our western neighbors.