Kiev Says Could Help Defend European States, Guarantee Peace In Europe After Joining NATO

Muhammad Irfan Published May 02, 2023 | 06:24 PM

Head of Ukrainian President's Office Andriy Yermak said on Tuesday that once his country joins NATO, Ukraine and its partners could defend European countries, other regions of the world and "guarantee peace in Europe

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd May, 2023) Head of Ukrainian President's Office Andriy Yermak said on Tuesday that once his country joins NATO, Ukraine and its partners could defend European countries, other regions of the world and "guarantee peace in Europe."

"Ukraine has proven its ability to stand up to Russia and is defending not only itself, but also the whole of Europe. And in the future, as a member of NATO, Ukraine together with its partners will be able to protect all European countries and other regions of the world even more effectively," Yermak told Dutch reporters according to statement from the president's office.

Ukraine's efforts to seek NATO membership are "the best way to speed up the end" of Russia's operation in Ukraine and "guarantee peace in Europe," according to the official.

Kiev would also expect "a powerful signal" about Ukraine's prospects in NATO rather than repeated statements about the bloc's policy of "open doors" during the upcoming summit of the alliance in Vilnius, which takes place from July 11-12, Yermak added.

On April 20, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during his visit to Kiev that Ukraine would eventually join the bloc, as all NATO members support its ambitions. Later, Stoltenberg's statement was opposed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Later in April, Slovak and Czech presidents, Zuzana Caputova and Petr Pavel, signed a document with their Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with the two Eastern European leaders vowing to intensify their support of Ukraine's push to join NATO.

In September, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine was applying to be fast-tracked to join NATO. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was closely monitoring the situation and recalled that Kiev's orientation toward the alliance was one of the reasons for the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.