Following the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, NATO Defence Chief Jens Stoltenberg announced Ukraine will become a member of the alliance over the "long-term.".“NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a member of our alliance, but at the same time that is a long-term perspective,” Stoltenberg said during a visit to Finland's capital Helsinki.."The issue now is that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation, and therefore we need to support Ukraine.”.Stoltenberg said while nobody can be certain when the war will end, the world must ensure that "history doesn't repeat itself that President Putin cannot continue to attack neighbours." As such, Stoltenberg said the world must continue strengthening Ukraine's military capabilities..Ukraine first signalled its intent to join NATO in 2008 during the Bucharest Summit in Romania. But those plans were shelved in 2010 after the election of Viktor Yanukovych, who preferred to keep the country non-aligned..After Russia's invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014, joining NATO once again became a priority for Ukraine. At the June 2021 Brussels summit, NATO leaders reiterated that Ukraine would eventually become a part of the alliance..Stoltenberg also stressed at that time that Russia, which has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, would not be able to veto Ukraine's entry into NATO. "We will not return to the era of spheres of interest, when large countries decide what smaller ones should do.".Following Russia's full-on invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has urged NATO to fast-track its membership into the defence pact. Ukraine also applied for EU membership shorty after its invasion and was granted candidate status in June 2022..After Russia's invasion, Sweden and Finland also dropped their decades-old military non-alignment policies in May 2022 by applying to join NATO. Turkey and Hungary are the only remaining European Union members who have not yet ratified Finland and Sweden's requests to join the alliance. Turkey claims both countries are harbouring "terrorist" Turkish citizens, and have demanded they be extradited. ."Both Finland and Sweden have delivered on what they promised in the trilateral agreement they made with Turkey last June in Madrid," Stoltenberg said. “The time is now to ratify and to fully welcome Finland and Sweden as members."
Following the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, NATO Defence Chief Jens Stoltenberg announced Ukraine will become a member of the alliance over the "long-term.".“NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a member of our alliance, but at the same time that is a long-term perspective,” Stoltenberg said during a visit to Finland's capital Helsinki.."The issue now is that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation, and therefore we need to support Ukraine.”.Stoltenberg said while nobody can be certain when the war will end, the world must ensure that "history doesn't repeat itself that President Putin cannot continue to attack neighbours." As such, Stoltenberg said the world must continue strengthening Ukraine's military capabilities..Ukraine first signalled its intent to join NATO in 2008 during the Bucharest Summit in Romania. But those plans were shelved in 2010 after the election of Viktor Yanukovych, who preferred to keep the country non-aligned..After Russia's invasion and annexation of Crimea in 2014, joining NATO once again became a priority for Ukraine. At the June 2021 Brussels summit, NATO leaders reiterated that Ukraine would eventually become a part of the alliance..Stoltenberg also stressed at that time that Russia, which has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, would not be able to veto Ukraine's entry into NATO. "We will not return to the era of spheres of interest, when large countries decide what smaller ones should do.".Following Russia's full-on invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has urged NATO to fast-track its membership into the defence pact. Ukraine also applied for EU membership shorty after its invasion and was granted candidate status in June 2022..After Russia's invasion, Sweden and Finland also dropped their decades-old military non-alignment policies in May 2022 by applying to join NATO. Turkey and Hungary are the only remaining European Union members who have not yet ratified Finland and Sweden's requests to join the alliance. Turkey claims both countries are harbouring "terrorist" Turkish citizens, and have demanded they be extradited. ."Both Finland and Sweden have delivered on what they promised in the trilateral agreement they made with Turkey last June in Madrid," Stoltenberg said. “The time is now to ratify and to fully welcome Finland and Sweden as members."
