Will NATO offer Ukraine real steps toward joining Alliance at Ramstein meeting? Expert's opinion
Photo: flags of Ukraine and NATO (Getty Images)
During the Ramstein meeting on October 12, steps regarding Ukraine's NATO membership will be discussed. However, there will be no talk of exchanging Ukrainian territories for membership in the Alliance, stated Serhiy Dzherdzh, head of the Public League Ukraine-NATO and a serviceman in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in a comment to the RBC-Ukraine YouTube channel.
"It seems that these issues will be discussed. The only thing that matters here is the details. There are a lot of messages that sound quite pessimistic - "exchanging territory" for NATO, something like that. I am sure this will not and cannot happen," said Dzherdzh.
He noted that if Ukraine is accepted into NATO as a state, it must be within all internationally recognized borders.
"There is no Ukraine with 'trimmed' borders. However, the application of Article 5 - collective defense - may be extended to the territory controlled by the central authority. Such a provision could be included, especially since it has been the case since 1949 for a number of countries," the expert added.
Ukraine's accession to NATO
At the NATO summit in Washington in July, Ukraine hoped to receive an official invitation to join the Alliance, but that did not happen. NATO only stated that the process of Ukraine's accession to the Alliance is "irreversible."
Today, The Washington Post reported that NATO countries at the Ramstein meeting will propose concrete steps regarding Ukraine's membership in the Alliance.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine's main focus is now on obtaining an invitation to NATO.
