WASHINGTON/KIEV (dpa-AFX) – Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has accused NATO of a “lack of political will” for his country to quickly join the defense alliance. “Anything is possible if there is a political will,” said the 42-year-old in an interview with the US broadcaster CNN on Wednesday night. The diplomat referred to Finland’s recent accession, which was unimaginable not long ago. “As long as Ukraine is outside of NATO, there will be a risk of repeated Russian aggression against Ukraine,” Kuleba stressed.
He recalled the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, at which Ukraine had already been granted accession prospects. At the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius in July, Kiev is expecting concrete commitments from the military alliance. So far, however, there is no exact timeframe for Ukraine’s accession – and such a step before the end of the war is considered very unlikely. Moscow justified its invasion of Ukraine a little over 14 months ago by preventing its neighbor from joining NATO./ast/DP/jha