Petro Poroshenko, during his speech at the NATO PA in Copenhagen, called for Ukraine to be invited to join the Alliance at the Washington Summit next year. He asked NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Joane what NATO’s position is and what Ukraine needs to do urgently for a positive decision in Washington.
“I will start with the so-called “fatigue from Ukraine”. Tonight, a few hours ago, I lost my friend, the commander of the 206th battalion, Vitalii Baranov. His heart stopped in the Lyman region, on the Lyman direction of hostilities. Under these circumstances, fatigue of Ukraine would mean fatigue of democracy, fatigue of freedom and eventually fatigue of NATO. Therefore, I want to support the words that as long as Ukraine has the strength to fight, no one has the right to be tired,” Poroshenko noted.
“What should be done right now? First, there are no other NATO approaches to an offensive or counter-offensive operation other than air dominance. That’s why we need F16 fighters, or the Swedish Gripen. Just as anti-aircraft defenses, long-range missiles and ammunition are needed. The economy, the largest economy in the world, should be put on military rails, in a military regime, in order to defeat Russia in the confrontation with the supply of weapons,” Petro Poroshenko emphasized.
He also called for stronger sanctions against Russia to finally cut off its ability to finance this war.
“We all have to understand that there will be no peace on our continent without Ukraine’s membership in NATO. There is no other effective security mechanism besides NATO. Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance will mean a stable security situation on the entire continent. So I would like to ask the Deputy Secretary General: what are your expectations from the NATO summit in Washington in terms of the invitation to Ukraine, because we have a window of opportunity for that? What should Ukraine do to speed up the relevant decision? All the more so considering that we are now here in Copenhagen and are ready to ensure the relevant reforms,” Poroshenko addressed the leadership of the Alliance.
NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Joane replied: “Do not neglect internal structural reforms, no matter how difficult it may be. I understand how difficult it is to achieve greater transparency in the public life of the state. How to ensure that structural reforms are carried out simultaneously with the confrontation in the bloody war. It is clear that it is easy to give advice, but it must be done. After all, you need these reforms not only in order to join NATO, but also in order to make your economy stronger and your society stronger.”