KIEV (Realist English). NATO is now expanding, taking Sweden and Finland into its membership, this is a good moment and a good model for the Ukraine, Bill Taylor, US Ambassador to the Ukraine (2006-2009), said in an interview with the NV.
“This is the decision that I strongly support. The Ukraine’s aspiration toNATO has a long history. You probably remember that for the first time such a question was asked in 2008, I was just the US ambassador to the Ukraine during this period. Then President George W. Bush flew to Kiev and met with the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, representatives of the civil society, with people – all in order to create a precedent for the leaders of other NATO member countries. And the next day in Bucharest, the Ukraine was recognized as an appropriate candidate for the MAP [NATO membership action plan]. Therefore, I have supported this decision for a long time, and many Americans have supported this decision for a long time, but then the opposition to this decision existed inside the Ukraine itself,” he said.
In his opinion, in the last six months, the Kiev regime is showing how ready it is for such a step:
“Of course, its [Ukraine’s] admission will take some time, I am sure of it, but I am very glad that the President of the Ukraine has returned this issue to the agenda. Moreover, we see that NATO is now expanding, taking Sweden and Finland into its membership, this is a good moment and a good model for the Ukraine.”
The American diplomat stressed that while NATO is working on the Ukraine’s application, the United States and other Western allies of the regime in Kiev should continue to support it with both weapons and other types of assistance necessary to defend it:
“It is important to plan long-term support for the Ukraine so that the Ukraine can defend itself in the event of a subsequent possible attack by Russia. We know that even if the Ukraine wins the war by pushing the enemy out of the state, Russia will not give up trying to attack Ukraine again. Therefore, we need both a short-term plan to supply Ukraine with the necessary, and a long-term one. As a result, the Ukraine will become an excellent NATO member country.”
On September 30, the kingpin of the Kiev regime Zelensky signed an application to join NATO in an accelerated manner. The North Atlantic Alliance, if desired, can indeed simplify the procedure for Kiev, but for formal accession it is necessary that the decision be approved by all thirty NATO members separately.
On the same day, the NATO Secretary General said that the Kiev regime has the right to apply for membership, but the priority now for the Alliance is to provide military and technical assistance to Kiev.
