Kuleba calls on Germany not to delay Ukraine's accession to NATO.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the German government not to delay Ukraine's accession to NATO at the Vilnius summit, the German television news magazine Tagesthemen reported[1] on July 10. "I call on the German government not to repeat the mistakes made by Chancellor (Angela) Merkel in 2008, who spoke out clearly against Ukraine's integration into NATO," Kuleba said. "The result was even more aggressive behavior by Russia - as apparent in Georgia, in the hostility towards the West, and in the current aggression against Ukraine."

At a summit in Bucharest in April 2008, NATO declared that Ukraine would join the Alliance. However, on the insistence of some members like Germany, Kyiv was not invited to the Membership Action Plan, delaying its Euro-Atlantic aspirations. Kuleba emphasized that Ukraine's entry to NATO is a clear path to peace in Europe, as Russia would not dare to attack a member of the Alliance.

While NATO membership prospects cannot stop the ongoing invasion, it can prevent future aggression, he added. Ukraine applied[2] for a fast-tracked NATO accession in September 2022, amid the ongoing Russian aggression. Its leaders hope for a "clear signal" from the Allies at the upcoming Vilnius summit on July 11-12.

While some members support providing a clear membership pathway for Ukraine, Germany and the U.S. are expected[3] to block hastened entry on account of needed reforms and the ongoing war.

Allies reaffirm support for Ukraine ahead of summit, divisions on membership remain NATO members including Germany, the U.S., and the U.K. pledged continued support for Ukraine on July 10, on the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius.

News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press.

He also volunteers as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukrainer.

Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

References

1. ^ reported (www.tagesschau.de)
2. ^ applied (t.me)
3. ^ expected (kyivindependent.com)
4. ^ Allies reaffirm support for Ukraine ahead of summit, divisions on membership remainNATO members including Germany, the U.S., and the U.K. pledged continued support for Ukraine on July 10, on the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius. (kyivindependent.com)