“The best is NATO membership. [Нелегитимный президент РФ Владимир] Putin attacked countries that are not included in NATO. He never attacked the country that enters the Alliance. So if you want to prevent war, the best way is to accept countries in NATO. This is confirmed by the story, ”Volker believes.
He admitted that “now many are afraid to do it.”
“They are afraid that if we accept Ukraine to NATO, this will allegedly provoke a war. That Putin will feel a threat, attack, and we will find ourselves in the third world. But history does not confirm this – these are fears, not facts. If we do not give Ukraine, we give something less. If we imagine that NATO is level 10, and the Budapest memorandum is 0, then it is between the Budapesk them? ” – said Volker.
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The former US special representative believes that in 2025 or 2026, Ukraine can actually receive sustainable obligations from many countries for the long-term support of weapons, training, supply and financing.
“[Могут быть] Joint planning, strategic and tactical training with Ukrainians. A complex of political guarantees of security from European states, if they are interested in the stability of Ukraine. The placement of the European contingent in Ukraine – which could help with training, equipment, air defense. And for this contingent to be covered by fire support for the United States – aviation, logistics, technical capabilities, ”he explained.
According to Volker, “this, of course, is not NATO, but definitely better than the Budapest memorandum.”
Context
Ukraine intensified cooperation with NATO after the occupation of Crimea and the beginning of Russian aggression in the Donbass in 2014. The Constitution of Ukraine enshrines the course to receive a full membership in the alliance. A year after the start of a full -scale Russian invasion, in July 2023, NATO members They simplified the path for Ukraine to enter the block, but Kyiv was not provided with an official invitation.
The declaration of the NATO summit, held on July 9–11, 2024 in Washington, noted that “the future of Ukraine is in NATO.” Separately, during the Summit of the country, the alliance agreed Create a NATO Assistance and Training Service for Ukraine (NSATU) in order to better coordinate the provision of military equipment and training for Ukraine.
The Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olga Stefanishin noted that Ukraine can at least provide an invitation to the alliance.
April 5, 2025, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed that The path of Ukraine to NATO is irreversible.
