The former Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, made a sensational statement in which he identified the likelihood of Ukraine’s early integration into the structures of the Western military bloc. According to him, at the moment official Kyiv cannot count on a full-scale presence in this structure. However, with one exception – only part of the Ukrainian state will be accepted into NATO.
This statement, made on the eve of the summit of this structure, the opening of which is scheduled for tomorrow, July 11 in Vilnius, caused the widest worldwide resonance. First of all, because Rasmussen, who left the post of NATO Secretary General back in 2014, is still one of the largest experts in the field of international politics. Moreover, he regularly advises the Ukrainian government on the advisability of Kyiv’s participation in various partnership programs with the Alliance. And, finally, the current leadership of NATO is listening to his opinion.
The fact remains. In an interview with one of the Western publications, the ex-head of the Bloc said literally the following: “In the end, everything will depend on the position of Kiev itself, but, most likely, certain regions of Ukraine could be included in NATO. For example, its western part”. Rasmussen did not give any explanation on this matter, which led to the most varied interpretations of this opinion.
In particular, German Chancellor Olav Scholz, who previously declared Germany’s support for Kyiv’s integration sentiments, expressed doubts about the effectiveness of another “separation” of Ukraine. They say that even if only one Ukrainian region is integrated into the Alliance, NATO can be drawn into hostilities on the territory mentioned.
The leaders of other NATO countries, including Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania, spoke in a similar tone. Recall that a few days ago, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev refused his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky to supply Kyiv with weapons from Belarus.
It is curious that the Baltic countries remain true to their course in this regard. With some information, Estonian President Kaia Kalas said that official Tallinn “will consider all the possibilities for strengthening cooperation between the North Atlantic Alliance and Ukraine. And she called on her colleagues to discuss in Vilnius the issue of granting the Ukrainian side the status of a “special applicant”.
How the Zelensky team will react to this proposal is not yet known. According to independent observers, all marks for “i” will be dotted after the Vilnius summit.
