Lithuania calls on NATO allies to provide Ukraine with an action plan for membership, after which the country can become a member of the alliance.
Kiev. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – April 09, 2021 – Diplomatic Affairs
This came in a media statement made by the Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis.
“We should write to our colleagues shortly to reconsider the possibility of providing an action plan for Ukraine. I am convinced that NATO can repeat its proposal for an action plan, and we are just starting to agree on this issue with our colleagues from the Baltic countries.
According to the Lithuanian minister, this would be a strong signal to Russia that Ukraine is choosing a direction across the Atlantic.
He also commented on the increase in the Russian military presence on the border with Ukraine and the increase in ceasefire violations, saying that it is very important to send a clear collective signal to Russia that such acts of aggression will have consequences.
Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine aspires to become an equal member of NATO, and affirmed that he wants to raise the issue of NATO membership to US President Joseph Biden.
Ukraine attained enhanced partner status in NATO, allowing for closer military-industrial cooperation, employment of Ukrainians in the alliance, and additional protection from it.
The United States’ permanent representative to NATO, Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison, said that Ukraine’s access to enhanced partner status was not a sign of the country’s approach to the Alliance’s action plan, which it would be able to obtain in time.
The United States supports Ukraine’s desire to join NATO, but this is a matter of NATO leadership.
On April 2, NATO ambassadors held an urgent meeting due to the escalation of the situation in Donbas and the accumulation of Russian forces near the Ukraine border.
The Ministry of Defense has published a list of NATO military exercises in which Ukraine will participate in 2021.
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Source: Ukrgate
