Kyiv: The situation in Crimea and Donbas will not prevent Ukraine from joining NATO
The armed conflict in eastern Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea by Russia will not prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, as stated by the Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security Ivan Vinnik (part of Petro Poroshenko Bloc “Solidarity”).
“This is a myth, created by Russian propaganda, that countries that are in involved in territorial claims cannot become subjects of NATO. I would like to remind you that Ukraine is not involved in a territorial conflict, we have the armed aggression of Russia, the result of which was occupation of part of our territory,” Vinnik said in the lobby of the Verkhovna Rada.
According to him, Ukraine needs to “liberate these territories as required by the law on de-occupation (law no. 7163).”
“NATO clearly delineates issues of armed conflict, armed aggression or any internal conflicts in the context of territorial claims,” Vinnik said.
On June 21, the Verkhovna Rada adopted, in the second reading, bill No. 8068 in its entirety. This bill is related to the national security of Ukraine, according to which the fundamental national interests are, among other things, the integration of Ukraine into various European spheres, and gaining membership into the EU and NATO.