Ukraine's NATO membership position remains unchanged - Ukrainian Defense Minister
Photo: Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov (Getty Images)
Ukraine's position on NATO membership remains unchanged. The country is committed to joining the Alliance, stated Defense Minister Rustem Umerov after the Ramstein meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
"Our position has always been unchanged: we want to be a NATO country, we will be a NATO country, we will be an EU country. We maintain our defense capabilities and we are capable of doing so. Therefore, we have our own priorities. We make decisions together with our people," he said, commenting on remarks by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
The Minister also emphasized that the Ramstein meeting is focused on security and defense assistance, and political matters will be addressed by officials other than defense ministers.
Umerov stated that everybody had heard such statements for the last 33 years and that one should get used to any statements.
Ukraine’s NATO membership
During his speech at today’s Ramstein meeting, the new Pentagon chief, Pete Hegseth, expressed the view that Ukraine’s NATO membership is not "a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement".
At the same time, as noted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, if Ukraine is not part of NATO, then the Alliance must be present on Ukrainian territory. He stated that the alternative to Ukraine joining NATO is the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine. Moreover, he emphasized that the country needs a military that would be comparable in size to Russia's.
Additionally, in his opinion, Ukraine will need to significantly strengthen its military if it is not accepted into NATO. Specifically, this means potentially doubling the number of soldiers.
