Invitation to NATO still a long way off – former Ukrainian FM
Ukraine is unlikely to receive an invitation to join NATO in the next decade, which significantly hinders the possibility of quickly finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict with Russia, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba has told The Times.
According to Kuleba, the incoming administration of US President-elect Donald Trump will have a hard time negotiating a peace deal in Ukraine due to the “fundamental differences” between Moscow and Kiev.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he will be able to settle the Ukraine conflict “within 24 hours” of entering office next month, though he has yet to explain how. Some have suggested that the president-elect could use future US military and financial aid to Ukraine as a means of getting both sides to the negotiating table.
Kuleba, who recently took up a plum position at a Harvard-based international relations research center, has claimed that a peace deal between the two countries is currently impossible and that “there will be no quick negotiations.”
One of the key reasons for this, according to the former minister, is that NATO will likely offer Ukraine a formal invitation to join the bloc in 10 to 20 years, which he said would be rejected by Kiev.
He suggested that one solution the Ukrainian leadership could find acceptable is to have an international peacekeeping force consisting of British and French troops deployed to the country while it awaits NATO membership.
Kuleba noted, however, that this proposal is unworkable and that the money for this would be better spent on additional weapons for Ukraine.
“The estimate for the peacekeeping mission is 40,000 troops. Try to stretch 40,000 troops along a 1,500km front line. It will be a very thin red line,” he told the outlet.
Moscow has repeatedly stressed that it would never accept Ukrainian membership in NATO, as this would fundamentally threaten Russia’s national security. Last week, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov noted that Kiev’s ambition to become a member of the US-led bloc was one of the main reasons Moscow launched its military operation in 2022.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently stated in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson that the “key principle is non-bloc-status of Ukraine” and “absolutely” no NATO membership for Kiev.
