Political expert: Ukraine is only 1/10th of the way to NATO membership

The anniversary NATO summit didn’t turn out to be a breakthrough. The statements on Ukraine are positive, but for us, it is only about 1/10th of the way to NATO membership.

This was stated by political scientist Oleh Sahakyan on Hromadske Radio.

«Although the summit was an anniversary event and focused on NATO’s readiness for all challenges, including rearmament, among the discussions were topics such as how NATO should cooperate with its adversaries China, Russia, and Iran to counter global terrorism. Is there any dissonance in the willingness to confront and the intention to cooperate?

The long search for a sufficiently tough and direct wording about Ukraine’s future membership in NATO hides the unwillingness to invite us here and now. We are not talking about membership right now, but at least an invitation. Countries like the United States and Germany are critically unprepared for Ukraine’s membership. There are other countries that are skeptical. This is an internal political issue for NATO», – he said.

Oleh Sahakyan emphasizes that NATO is stronger than ever, but indecisive, in contrast to the much weaker Russia, which acts confidently and brazenly.

Ukraine received from the summit the minimum necessary to continue its struggle: support under various programs, an announcement of mandatory long-term spending for Ukraine—40 billion euros—and long-awaited fighter jets.

«We must understand that the level of determination of the West and the world is much lower than we expect. Much lower than the situation requires. Nothing qualitatively new has happened. The summit visualized and compiled a list of what is already happening. And here is a contrast with, for example, the statement about NATO’s increased support for Ukraine, although the amount is actually the same as last year. Of course, 40 billion is a serious amount, a third of what Russia spends. This is much more than we would be able to spend on our own», – says Oleh Sahakyan.

As a reminder, during the NATO Summit in Washington, 21 countries and the European Union signed the Ukraine Security Assistance Compact, which provides for the coordination and acceleration of joint support efforts. Results for Ukraine: 40 billion euros of support, F-16 fighter jets this summer, and new air defense systems against Russian missiles.