The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Andrii Zagorodniuk reported on the agreements reached with NATO to launch a new format of relations. According to him, by the end of the year Kiev and the alliance representatives should sign a set of relevant agreements.
“We are restarting the format of working with NATO, making it more practical. We hope that the first documents will be signed this year, ”Zagorodniuk said at the end of the meeting of the Alliance’s defense ministers in Brussels.
As Zagorodniuk explained, the new format of cooperation involves bringing all existing programs aimed at implementing NATO standards into one.
The priority of relations with the alliance will remain the transition of the Ukrainian army to Western standards in order to achieve "full operational compatibility with NATO." In particular, Kiev intends to reform the structure of the General Staff and change the charter documents.
Describing current relations with the alliance, Zagorodniuk stated that Ukraine was "seen as a partner" in Brussels. At the same time, the Minister of Defense emphasized that the military bloc continues to support Kiev.
“We have support, and if earlier it was getting help, now it’s an exchange of experience. We have experience that we have gained in a tragic way - this is five years of the war with Russia. None of these countries have such experience, and we hope that this will not happen. They understand that we can give them no less than they give us, ”said the head of the Ukrainian defense department.
"Imitation of rapid cooperation"
At the end of October, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and other representatives of the alliance’s leadership will visit Ukraine. Foreign guests will visit Kiev and Odessa, Ukrainian media reported with reference to the Permanent Representative of Ukraine in the alliance of Alexander Vinnikov.
According to him, Stoltenberg will take part in a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission. The diplomat considers the arrival of the alliance delegation as evidence of the country's support.
Citing sources, the European Truth European publication reports that Brussels and Kiev are currently coordinating a project to integrate Ukraine, bypassing the adoption of the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP). According to the publication, this is the meaning of the “new format” of relations. According to journalists, basically it will lead to a change in “approaches to how Ukraine will adapt NATO standards” in its armed forces.
The absence of a MAP is the main obstacle for Ukraine to join the alliance. In early 2008, Kiev sent a letter to Brussels asking it to join the country in the MAP, but the military bloc left the Ukrainian authorities unanswered. In April of the same year, at an alliance summit in Bucharest, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands did not support Ukraine’s desire to join the organization.
The current authorities are not going to resubmit the application for inclusion in the MAP. This behavior of Kiev is explained by the unwillingness to endure another diplomatic fiasco, Andrei Koshkin, head of the Plekhanov Russian Political University Department of Political Science and Sociology, expressed an opinion in an interview with RT.
“The Zelensky team is aware that there are no prospects for providing MAP. The West will not quarrel with Moscow over this document. Therefore, now we are witnessing an imitation of vigorous cooperation with the alliance, for example, informational noise around the transition of the Armed Forces to NATO standards. It really happens, but it is a very long and costly process, ”said Koshkin.
- Joint exercises of the Armed Forces and NATO soldiers
- Flickr
- © Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
Closed doors
One of Kiev’s latest measures related to the process of integration into NATO was the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of a draft law on amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine on military duty and military service in mid-October. The document introduces new ranks for the rank and file and sergeant, similar to those used in the US Army.
The bill was prepared by politicians close to Petro Poroshenko - the ex-chairman of the Rada, Andrei Parubiy and his deputy, Irina Gerashchenko. Despite this, the document found support from their opponents - deputies from the "Servant of the people" faction.
In an interview with RT, the president of the Center for System Analysis and Forecasting Rostislav Ishchenko stated that in the matter of relations with NATO, the Zelensky team maintained continuity with the regime of Petro Poroshenko. In his opinion, the “Servant of the people” will continue to adopt bills on the country's integration into NATO, including those initiated by the previous convocation of the Rada.
“Ukraine is moving the road that it entered in 2014. Now from the side of official Kiev we are observing the same Russophobic pro-Western rhetoric. Zagorodniuk and other representatives of the country's leadership continue to feed people with stories about the “support” of the alliance and inventions about the “priceless” military experience that Ukraine is ready to share with NATO, ”Ischenko said.
As the expert explained, Kiev is trying to prove to the country's citizens the “usefulness” of Ukraine for the alliance, although earlier Zelensky and his entourage held a more cautious position. In March, in an interview with journalist Dmitry Gordon when asked whether Ukraine should join NATO, the future president said the following: "I will never go on a visit if my name is not."
According to Zelensky, he does not like the feeling of “inferiority” and “second-rate”. Then he emphasized that he supported integration into NATO, but advocated the adoption of specific measures along this path. At the same time, he criticized Poroshenko for the fact that his predecessor secured PR for himself by securing the course on membership in the alliance in the country's constitution.
In September, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Dmitry Kuleba, in an interview with Ukrainian journalists, stressed that Kiev does not make sense to "knock on closed doors and beg:" Take us. " According to him, the country's authorities "must work in such a way that they (representatives of NATO. - RT ) understand that without us they are weaker than with us."
- President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
- © president.gov.ua
However, both Zelensky and Kuleba changed their point of view on the country's relations with NATO. In June, at a meeting with Secretary General of the military bloc Jens Stoltenberg, the President of Ukraine noted that the current "partnership" of Kiev and the alliance should be transformed into a "full-fledged alliance."
In mid-October, in an interview with Ukrainian journalists, Kuleba made it clear that Kiev intends to build relations with NATO. In this regard, as the official noted, "the whole country must change in order to meet the criteria for membership."
Rostil Ishchenko called the "natural" change in the point of view of Zelensky and Kuleba. As the expert explained, a reasonable look at the issue of relations with NATO could cause a surge of dissatisfaction with the radicals and a wave of accusations of "betrayal" of national interests.
“The current political reality of Ukraine is such that any person in power, contrary to common sense, should be engaged in propaganda of the country's joining the alliance and, like Zagorodniuk, periodically talk about some new format of relations,” Ischenko said.
"Sit on the neck of the West"
According to Andrei Koshkin, Kiev expects that the transition to NATO standards will significantly increase the combat capabilities of the Armed Forces.
“In Ukraine, the implementation of NATO standards is perceived as a panacea for all problems. However, this is an erroneous view. Technical requirements and changes to the troop command and control system are needed, first of all, for interoperability. Such innovations do not directly affect the combat readiness of the army, ”stated Koshkin.
In support of these words, the interlocutor RT cited the situation with the combat readiness of the troops, which has developed in the Eastern European countries - NATO members that were previously members of the Warsaw Treaty Organization (ATS). Their integration into the alliance, as the expert noted, did not lead to an increase in military potential.
In turn, Rostislav Ishchenko takes a different view of the tasks that Kiev sets for itself in relations with Brussels. The expert believes that, on the pretext of switching to the standards of the military bloc, Zelensky’s office expects to obtain from NATO large-scale military assistance. However, Brussels does not welcome such a “dependent approach”.
“Ukraine spends a lot of money on army reform. There is annual US assistance in the amount of $ 250 million, but these funds are still not enough. Kiev sees Euro-Atlantic integration as a way to sit on the West’s neck. However, Ukraine has achieved the opposite effect: the EU and the US distance themselves from Kiev and all its problems, ”Ishchenko summed up.