According to Jerry Connolly, the president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Ukraine's accession to NATO should be discussed only after it is possible to de-occupy all territories from the Russian invaders.
Points of attention
- Ukraine's accession to NATO is possible only after resolving territorial issues.
- The politician supports the idea of Ukraine joining NATO as a whole, not in parts.
- Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that discussions about joining NATO should take place openly and transparently.
Joining NATO is currently not a key goal of Ukraine
According to Connolly, Kyiv has not yet received an invitation to join the Alliance, as the war is still ongoing.
I think we have to resolve this, we have to restore Ukraine's sovereignty over its territories, and then make sure that the path to NATO is open.
Jerry Connolly
President of the NATO PA
According to the politician, he is not surprised or annoyed by "a certain haste and impatience on the part of Ukrainians".
But we have, of course, a difficult and tragic situation on the territory of Ukraine. And this is the presence of Russian troops there and the Russian occupation. This must be resolved, Jerry Connolly emphasized.
Ukraine should join the Alliance as a whole, not in parts
As the politician frankly admits, he considers the best of all possible scenarios — the joining of all of Ukraine to NATO, and to some part of it.
What is important to understand is that the last option is indeed being discussed by Western leaders, but on the sidelines.
Recently, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy complained that he is not satisfied with such opaque discussions behind Ukraine's back.
I would say that is the better way forward. Is this the only way — maybe not. We do not know what the outcome of this struggle will be, we know the outcome we hope for. And that is why NATO and the US government have allocated large resources and established a partnership with our brothers and sisters in Ukraine so that they can stand up and restore full sovereignty over their entire territory, added the NATO PA president.
