Ukrainian President Zelensky announced his Victory Plan to EU and NATO allies, proposing Ukraine’s entry into NATO. Baltic countries like Lithuania claim it is one of the only ways to truly ensure Ukraine’s future security and deter Russia.
“NATO should invite Ukraine to be part of it to guarantee their security in the future,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas told ‘Euronews’. Kasčiūnas also said that “Russia needs to know that it cannot have a ‘veto’ about another country, or about the future size of NATO. “It’s the biggest mistake,” he added.
His remarks came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented his EU counterparts and NATO allies with his Victory Planwhich includes an invitation for Ukraine to eventually join NATO.
However, while Lithuania may be among several countries that see a Ukrainian invitation to accession as a morally just and tactically correct policy, there are other allies such as United States who may see it as a provocation to Russia. In addition, other allies such as Hungary and Slovakia actively oppose the proposal.
In the NATO 75th Anniversary Summit, held in Washington DC last July, Ukraine was told it was on an “irreversible bridge” to membership, but it fell short of a formal invitation.
However, Kasčiūnas stated that an invitation to join is not the same than full integration, as it will take several years for Ukraine to reach Alliance levels of interoperability and standards. However, it would send a signal to Russia and Ukraine about the “irreversibility” of Ukraine’s western direction and its independent sovereignty.
“The Ukrainian nation, fighting for its independence but also for our safety, it deserves the right to self-determination. An invitation is not an adhesion, but rather a point of no return. It is irreversibility. “So I think we can at least give them an invitation,” he said.
“Just words about bridges of irreversibility, sorry… it doesn’t work. We need action.” Furthermore, he argued that the current stalemate is counterproductive because Russia only reacts with force.
Kasčiūnas recalled that the Baltic countries, including his own, had long been urging the EU and the West to take stronger measures against Russiabut his warnings were ignored.
We, the Balts, have always said that we must give more weapons to Ukraine to deter. If Ukraine is strong, Russia will be deterred,” he explained. And we heard many voices from our friends telling us: “Look, if you give weapons to Ukraine, there will be a escalation. It will provoke. But we didn’t give enough, and now we see what has happened. Doing nothing is an escalation,” he told ‘Euronews’.
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