Following Russia’s official annexation of four Moscow-controlled areas of Ukraine, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said that Ukraine is seeking fast-track NATO membership. The Ukrainian president made his remarks on Friday, 30th September 2022, shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin staged a ceremony in Moscow to declare four partially occupied regions of Ukraine to be Russian annexed territory.
It is important to note that Russia had launched the invasion of Ukraine to prevent it from joining NATO.
In a video shared on Telegram, Zelensky said, “We have already proven our compatibility with Alliance standards. We are taking a decisive step by signing Ukraine’s application for accelerated accession to NATO.” Zelensky was seen in the video making the announcement and then signing a paper while being joined by his prime minister and the speaker of parliament.
Zelensky response: He says Ukraine is de facto part of NATO alliance. “Today, Ukraine is applying to make it de jure… We are taking our decisive step by signing Ukraine’s application for accelerated accession to NATO.” pic.twitter.com/8Bb8G8xnaF
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) September 30, 2022
The Ukrainian president that practically the country is already a member of NATO. “We are de facto allies already. De facto, we have already proven compatibility with Alliance standards,” he said. “Ukraine is applying to confirm it de jure by an expedited procedure,” Zelensky added.
Additionally, Zelensky insisted that he would not engage in negotiations with Russia as long as Vladimir Putin is president. He said, “Ukraine will not hold any negotiations with Russia as long as Putin is the president of the Russian Federation. We will negotiate with the new president.”
Volodymyr Zelensky also posed with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk holding the request for fast-track membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
NATO currently has 30 members, which comprises 28 European nations along with Canada and USA, and all of them will have to agree to the request for Ukraine to be part of the military alliance. Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea, NATO is providing military assistance to Ukraine, including during the current invasion. At present, Ukraine’s relationship with NATO is governed by the NATO–Ukraine Action Plan, which was adopted in November 2002. NATO’s practical support for Ukraine is set out in the Comprehensive Assistance Package (CAP) for Ukraine.
NATO considers Ukraine as an “aspirant country” for membership, along with Georgia. However, the military alliance is wary of inducting a country when the country’s international borders are not clearly defined.
In another step up from the seven-month incursion, Putin signed treaties to annex territories of Ukraine in disregard of international law, promising to defend the newly integrated regions by “all possible means.” Putin pushed Ukraine to hold peace negotiations, but he soon said he won’t accept handing back seized territory, maintaining him in conflict with the Ukrainian government and its Western supporters who oppose the territorial grab.
Putin accused the West of inciting conflicts as part of a scheme to transform Russia into a “colony” and “crowds of slaves” during a Kremlin event to announce the annexation of the seized portions of Ukraine. Putin’s most recent action was instantly responded to with a unified statement from the European Union that rejected and denounced the annexation of the four regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.
In February this year, Ukraine applied for membership in European Union, and in June, the EU accepted it as a membership candidate by passing a resolution to grant it membership candidate status. But the UU officials have said that the process will take years to complete.
