Ukraine's rapid membership in NATO to make war continuation pointless for Putin

Ukraine's rapid accession to NATO will convince Russian President Vladimir Putin that the war in Ukraine has been pointless.

Source: Ukrinform citing Kurt Volker, Former US Special Representative for Ukraine and Former US Ambassador to NATO, during a conference at the European Parliament

Quote: "I am convinced that today's NATO policy inadvertently signals Putin to continue hostilities. We say Ukraine will become a member in the long term, but we cannot bring it into NATO while this war continues.

This encourages Putin to continue the war. I think the time has come for us to send the exact opposite message that Ukraine will become a NATO member as soon as possible.

This will mean that there is no way for Ukraine to lose. Thus, the continuation of this war will be pointless for Putin and destructive for Russia."

Details: Volker noted that it was his personal point of view, not the US government's position.

He emphasised that the practical implementation of such an intention is not as complex as believed. Undoubtedly, concerns exist that Ukraine's membership could lead to escalation, the risk of nuclear weapons, or a direct confrontation between NATO and Russian forces. Those concerns should be considered, but, as Volker said, they can be addressed.

"We may speak about, in particular in the NATO-Ukraine Council format, what Article 5 will mean for Ukraine and what steps the Alliance will take to protect Ukraine following this article. Article 5 does not contain a specific commitment to deploy troops. It speaks of a collective response. We have such a collective response even now because NATO already provides Ukraine with training, equipment, and intelligence," Volker explained.

At the same time, he pointed out that NATO can provide more to help Ukraine. In particular, this concerns the mine clearance capabilities provision, including sea mine clearance, which will open routes in the Black Sea.

NATO may launch missions to ensure freedom of navigation in the Black Sea, which will negate Russia's claims of the right to attack civilian vessels of third countries in international waters. Such Russian actions are directly equivalent to piracy.

"NATO can also directly get involved in Ukraine's air defence. Providing the appropriate equipment is a good start, and things are better now.

But I think the Alliance can do more by directly helping Ukraine with air defence.

Ukraine borders NATO countries to the west, which allows the use of capabilities for air defence of large settlements or civil infrastructure facilities," the former US Ambassador to the Alliance noted.

Background: In the summer, former US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker criticised US President Joe Biden's stance on Ukraine's membership in NATO.

Support UP or become our patron!