Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in an interview with the British edition of The Independent said about his disappointment with relations with Western states.
According to him, the US and EU authorities do not fulfill their promises and Kiev has to rely on its own strength.
“Our country has learned a number of sad lessons about how the promises given by the West are not being fulfilled.
We don't believe in promises ... Terms and conditions leave us no choice.
The army, diplomacy and the people of Ukraine are what we have to survive, ”Kuleba said.
Speaking about the United States, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister agreed with the opinion of the journalist The Independent that the United States is experiencing a "leadership crisis", which is eloquently evidenced by the hasty curtailment of the military presence in Afghanistan.
At the same time, Kuleba expressed the hope that Washington will demonstrate the seriousness of its attitude to the issue of Ukraine's security.
“I spoke with one American senator who told me that the US cannot fail in Ukraine in the same way as it did in Afghanistan,” Kuleba added.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine noted that Kiev today is concerned about possible sabotage on the border with Belarus, the joint strategic exercise of Moscow and Minsk "West-2021" and the upcoming launch of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
Kuleba explained the insufficient support of the country by the United States and the EU by the fact that for hundreds of years Ukraine was perceived as part of the "Russian world".
"A lot of conditions"
According to The Independent, one of Kiev's key claims to the West is the lack of tangible prospects for EU membership.
Thus, at the end of August, in an interview with the Ukrainian news resource Evropeyskaya Pravda, Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid said that for two decades Kiev would be deprived of the opportunity to apply for EU membership.
“To join the EU, you need to fulfill a lot of conditions, and none of these three states (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia. -
RT
), let's face it, is not ready to fulfill the criteria for membership.
You (the Ukrainian authorities. -
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) will probably need 20 years before you come to this readiness, "Kaljulaid said.
President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid
Reuters
© Francois Lenoir
Commenting on the statements of the Estonian leader on the air of the Ukraine 24 TV channel, Kuleba called them inappropriate.
According to him, "a little over 20 years ago, Western countries used the same mentoring tone to tell Lithuanians, Latvians and Estonians: you need 20-30 years to mature to the EU and NATO."
“Therefore, of course, it was strange for me to hear these words from the President of Estonia.
I talked to her before, and she was optimistic.
I do not know what influenced her, but these statements do not correspond to the friendly nature of our relations, ”Kuleba said.
Despite the negative reaction of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, two weeks later at the YES Brainstorming forum in Kiev, Kaljulaid made an even harsher statement.
In particular, the President of Estonia said that Ukraine is "at a distance of several light years" from the fulfillment of the Copenhagen criteria, which allow the state to be admitted to the EU.
Kaljulaid sees the main problem of Ukraine in large-scale corruption, ineffective courts and law enforcement system, as well as in the dominance of oligarchs who prevent the country from "approaching" the EU.
Experts interviewed by RT said that in reality, the Ukrainian authorities realize the futility of attempts to achieve the status of even a candidate for EU membership.
With constant “European integration” rhetoric, Kiev hopes to convince the population of moving towards the EU and at the same time to get Brussels to make concessions in demands for further cooperation.
“By talking about the prospects for EU membership, Zelensky and other representatives of the elite hope to somehow justify themselves in front of the people.
Europe ignores Kiev's attempts.
Europeans are mostly dissatisfied with the off-scale level of corruption.
It is impossible to develop any joint projects with such a country, since any money allocated to Kiev will for the most part be stolen, "Vladimir Zharikhin, deputy director of the Institute of CIS Countries, explained in an interview with RT.
As the political scientist stressed, Europe, at least at the public level, did not give Kiev any promises and guarantees of EU membership.
Moreover, Kiev is constantly reminded of the need for intensive reforms in the public administration system, says Zharikhin.
“By and large, the representatives of the Kiev authorities have no choice but to repeat about certain promises in this hopeless situation.
Most likely, this is another lie, because in Europe they have already repeated a thousand times that nothing will shine for Kiev, ”the expert argues.
In a commentary to RT, Nikolai Mezhevich, chief researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, also noted that Brussels never gave Kiev guarantees of EU membership.
Moreover, according to the expert, the leading European powers regularly make it clear that they are tired of Ukraine's diplomatic initiatives.
Flags of Ukraine and the EU in the center of Kiev
Reuters
© David Mdzinarishvili
As an example, the political scientist cited the failure with the organization of the "Crimean Platform".
Recall that Kiev failed to attract the leaders of key EU member states to the forum, as originally planned.
On the eve of the start of the Crimean Platform, German Chancellor Angela Merkel held a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Ukrainian capital.
However, the head of the German government did not stay for another day to take part in the events of the forum.
“Ukraine with its EU problems is not interesting, and if we finish the topic of EU membership, then Europe has long changed its attitude towards applicants.
The not very successful experience of the previous enlargement made it possible to realize the need to soberly assess the potential of countries that want to join the EU.
Ukraine's movement towards the EU can last 20 years, 200 years, or 1000 years, ”Mezhevich explained.
Draconian Requirements
According to an RT source in the Ukrainian cabinet, another cause for concern in Kiev was the current situation in relations with the United States.
In his opinion, by talking about a "leadership crisis" and disappointment, Kuleba made an attempt to "force" the United States to "think about relations with Ukraine."
“Ukraine is broadcasting the thesis of disappointment for many reasons.
The main problems for Kiev now are Nord Stream 2 and the draconian requirements for new tranches.
The meeting with Biden did not yield anything, and therefore I do not think that Kuleba's statements will change anything, ”the source said.
Recall that on September 1, Zelensky met with US President Joe Biden at the White House.
As a result, the Ukrainian leader did not talk about its specific results, limiting himself to general phrases about comprehensive support and the absence of negativity in relations with Washington.
“The meeting was generally normal and productive.
It took place in an inconsistently sunny atmosphere, but within the framework of a normal male conversation.
The clouds didn’t come out, there was simply no time to be distracted by the sun, ”Zelensky said.
In turn, Biden said that he still supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine "in the face of Russian aggression."
The Ukrainian authorities are working on organizing a return visit by the head of the White House to Ukraine.
Washington has not yet commented on this information.
Since the beginning of September, the Ukrainian president has stated several times that in a conversation with Biden, the issue of Ukraine's membership in NATO was discussed, and the American leader allegedly supported this prospect.
At the moment, the White House has not responded to Zelensky's statements.
However, on September 1, during a conversation with reporters, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that Kiev is obliged to fulfill a number of conditions.
These include reforms to establish the rule of law, modernize the military sector and ensure economic growth.
“Ukraine must take certain steps, and it knows very well which ones,” Psaki emphasized.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and American leader Joe Biden at a meeting at the White House
Reuters
© Jonathan Ernst
According to experts, the situation with Kiev's desire to join the North Atlantic Alliance looks about the same as in the field of European integration: Ukraine is nominally supported, but they refuse to give guarantees, they demand from it to carry out a lot of painful reforms and at the same time do not indicate specific terms for integration.
An RT source in the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers believes that Kiev itself is to blame for such a disdainful attitude on the part of its "Western partners".
“The Ukrainian authorities are to blame for the fact that the West treats them with suspicion.
How many times have they committed themselves and didn't do anything?
At the same time, from their point of view, Western partners should make concessions because of the war, crisis and poverty.
It seems to me that there are no more naive people in Europe and the United States.
And the statements that are being made now can only alienate those who still sympathize with Ukraine, ”said a representative of the Ukrainian Cabinet.
At the same time, the interlocutor of RT in the Batkivshchyna party pointed to the responsibility of the leadership of the US and the EU.
According to him, the West does not want to make efforts to ensure the socio-economic development of Ukraine.
“It seems that those around Zelensky still began to understand that the EU and the United States are definitely not interested in the development of Ukraine.
Better late than never, as they say.
But it’s one thing to realize the problem, and another thing is to act and really try to rely on our own forces, ”says the representative of Batkivshchyna.
According to Nikolai Mezhevich, the analysis of contemporary Kiev politics unwittingly refers to the textbook episode of the "Euromaidan", when the official representative of the US State Department (now Deputy Secretary of State) Victoria Nuland handed out cookies to participants in the riots in the center of Kiev.
“In my opinion, the West clearly makes Kiev understand that all the cookies were eaten on the Maidan. Kiev claims that it feels cheated, but this rhetoric does not affect anything. To get something now, it makes no sense for Ukraine to rely on US and EU assistance, ”concluded Mezhevich.