According to the head of the NATO office in Kiev, Alexander Vinnikov, the armed conflict in Donbass is not an obstacle to Ukraine's entry into the alliance, since such a ban is not spelled out in the North Atlantic Treaty for countries with military operations on their territory.

He told about this in an interview with the newspaper "European Truth".

“There is no such norm in the NATO Washington Treaty.

However, all allies must be convinced that the entry of a new member will enhance the security of the alliance.

That is why this decision is made collectively, ”he said.

Vinnikov also said what practical steps the North Atlantic Alliance is taking to help Ukraine "restore territorial integrity."

“We have significantly increased our presence in the Black Sea.

More ships, more aircraft flights, NATO forces are stationed in Romania, NATO ships are entering Ukrainian ports, we are conducting joint exercises.

The current Sea Breeze is the largest in history, with over 30 countries taking part in it.

All these are clear, concrete steps of solidarity and support, which we plan to continue, ”explained the head of the NATO office.

An absolute requirement

Some media outlets have expressed the thesis that the presence of an armed conflict or an unresolved territorial dispute as an obstacle to joining NATO is the fruit of "Russian propaganda."

However, despite the absence of a clear indication of this in the North Atlantic Treaty, such a provision is spelled out in the accompanying documents of the alliance.

For example, it is contained in a publication on the official NATO website, which lists the principles of the bloc's enlargement and the admission of new members to it.

“States involved in ethnic conflicts or external territorial disputes, including those related to irredentist claims (territorial claims against a state in whose border areas an ethnic minority of a neighboring country lives. -

RT

), or disputes related to internal jurisdiction, must settle them peacefully in accordance with OSCE principles.

The settlement of such disputes will influence the decision to invite the state to the alliance, ”the document explains.

  • NATO headquarters in Brussels

  • AFP

  • © Yves Herman

This position back in 2002 - during the second wave of NATO expansion to the east - was voiced by the then official representative of the bloc, Mark Leithy.

Then he stressed that the settlement of territorial disputes is one of the main criteria for membership in the alliance.

“It is obvious that we do not want to bring (into the alliance -

RT

) other people's disputes and attach paramount importance (as was the case with the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland) to the settlement of unresolved disputes with neighbors.

It is extremely important for the countries to come to an understanding: we are looking at this moment very carefully, and we really expect them to settle disputes with their neighbors, ”the bloc's representative said at the time.

This position is periodically updated by European politicians, who emphasize the need to resolve the conflict in Donbass before Ukraine's admission to NATO.

In particular, on August 25, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid announced this.

Answering the question whether the restoration of control over the entire territory of the country is a condition for joining the alliance, she stressed: “Absolutely!

We need a solution to the conflict.

Hopefully through negotiations.

Sooner or later".

Kaljulaid noted that she was in favor of Ukraine's joining NATO, but stated: "It is unclear when this will be possible ... We must first wait for the turn of history."

Looking forward to an alliance

Recall that Ukraine renounced its non-aligned status after the change of power as a result of a coup d'état in 2014.

In 2019, the Verkhovna Rada adopted amendments to the country's Constitution, which secured its course towards membership in the EU and NATO.

The administration of Volodymyr Zelenskyy has recently been trying to speed up the issue of accepting Kiev into the alliance, making categorical statements on this topic.

So, in April, Zelensky, during a conversation with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, said that Ukraine's accession to the bloc is the only way to stop the conflict in Donbass.

“We strive to reform our army and defense sector, but reforms alone cannot stop Russia.

NATO is the only way to end the war in Donbas.

The MAP will become a real signal for the Russian Federation, ”Zelensky was quoted as saying by his press service.

The NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) is a program according to which the candidate country must consistently prepare for joining the alliance: the defense, resource, political and economic aspects of the country's activities must gradually, year after year, be adjusted to the standards of the bloc.

Zelenskiy also asked for help in assisting in joining the North Atlantic Alliance and the heads of its member countries.

So, in April, he asked for support from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“As a special partner of Ukraine, Canada could show leadership among allies who support the MAP decision for Ukraine.

Canada's assistance will be an important signal of support from true friends, ”the press service of the Ukrainian president quotes Zelensky's appeal to Trudeau.

At the same time, Ukraine's western allies have consistently avoided making specific statements regarding the NATO future of Kiev.

On April 6, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the final decision on this issue should be made by the alliance.

A few days later, commenting on the meeting between Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, the State Department noted that this topic was not raised.

Following a meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky on August 31, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin limited himself to routine phrases about Washington's support for Kiev's NATO membership and said that the parties would sign an agreement that would provide for the implementation of defense reforms necessary “to support Ukraine's NATO membership aspirations. ".

Conflict issue

Experts note that Western countries were not eager to admit Ukraine to NATO even before the conflict in Donbass began. In an interview with RT, the head of the department of international organizations and world political processes at the Faculty of World Politics at Moscow State University, Andrei Sidorov, emphasized that, if desired, the alliance can turn a blind eye to the presence of an unresolved territorial dispute among members, as was the case with Greece and Turkey, which were in conflict over Northern Cyprus.

“However, today in relation to Kiev it is practically impossible, since part of the current North Atlantic alliance, including Germany, France, acts with an eye on Russia and is not ready to spoil relations with it.

Considering that the Russian leadership will react extremely negatively to Kiev's accession to NATO and will be forced to take various retaliatory measures, Russian partners in the West do not support Ukraine, ”the expert noted.

  • Vladimir Zelensky

  • AFP

  • © Stefanie Loos

At the same time, the statement by the head of the NATO office in Kiev about the increase in activity in the Black Sea suggests that the alliance is using "concern for the territorial integrity of Ukraine" as an excuse to try to limit Russia's influence and strengthening in the region, Sidorov added.

According to Alexander Domrin, professor at the Faculty of Law at the Higher School of Economics, the latest statement from the NATO representative should bring hope to Kiev, while not clarifying the specific timing of Ukraine's admission to the alliance.

“Given that the United States is now busy with more important problems than Ukraine, this statement should calm Kiev on the eve of Zelensky’s meeting with Biden and somehow mitigate the situation, demonstrate that Washington is still a partner of Kiev,” the political scientist said.

At the same time, this will not affect the real process of joining the North Atlantic Alliance, because the presence of territorial disputes is still a criterion for admitting a country to the bloc, despite the assurances of its representative to the contrary, added Domrin.

In general, Brussels continues to reassure the Kiev authorities without taking any significant steps, the expert added.

“NATO, with the exception of some members of this organization, is not interested in solving the problems of Ukraine, let alone fighting for it in order to restore its territorial integrity,” Domrin concluded.