By Viktor Yushchenko
This week, Brussels
will host a meeting of NATO foreign ministers which will give a comprehensive
assessment of Ukraine's
progress in conducting reforms. Among other things, the meeting will discuss
NATO's Membership Action Plan for Ukraine.
I shall be straightforward:
We are interested in the MAP and we are expecting a positive signal from the
alliance. We believe we are ready for deeper cooperation. Taking it to a
qualitatively new level will undoubtedly be mutually beneficial.
Ukraine has more than once proved the
effectiveness of its participation in the system of European and Euro-Atlantic
security. At the NATO summit in Bucharest, the
allies gave a high assessment of Ukraine's contribution to all
peacekeeping operations and missions conducted under the aegis of NATO and the
United Nations. We are ready and able to bear joint responsibility. This has
been manifested in peacekeeping operations in Croatia,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo,
Afghanistan and
other "hot spots."
I should recall that Ukraine
voluntarily gave up one of the largest nuclear arsenals in the world. At the
present time, Ukraine
guarantees the security of energy transit across its territory.
We have every reason to
state that Ukraine's
membership in NATO will strengthen the role and security capabilities of the
alliance. That is why the conclusion made by the allies in Bucharest
sounded unambiguous: Ukraine
will be a NATO member.
Why
does Ukraine
aspire to join NATO? To us this is an issue of sovereign choice, a strategic
course and civilization progress. Ukraine is striving to join NATO
not for defense purposes only. After all, we do not regard a single country as
one that could afford real threats against us.
However, Ukraine is part
of a globalized world that is developing dynamically. Ukraine's
desire to join NATO is an aspiration to become part of the most effective
system of collective security and to share joint responsibility for
common space.
We also clearly realize
that Ukraine's
success on the path towards NATO hinges on the implementation of key reforms in
this country. We are not walking away from this course even though sometimes we
have to overcome not only objective, but also subjective, artificial and at
times aggressive obstacles.
I am convinced that NATO is
interested in Ukraine no
less than Ukraine
is interested in NATO. We understand the discussions going on inside the
organization: The main concern is Russia's
negative reaction to Ukraine's
Euro-Atlantic aspirations. In this respect I should note that the alliance has
always emphasized an open-door policy.
The dissatisfaction of
third countries cannot be a signal for the alliance to give up its declared
principles. The position of the Russian
Federation on NATO enlargement has been
known for a long time and did not emerge yesterday.
We remember the first and
second waves of NATO enlargement in 1999 and 2004. Back then we also heard
angry rhetoric and calls "not to interfere in the sphere of Russian
interests." But this did not stop the alliance from gaining
new members.
We are not so much worried
about Russia's attempts to
control the alliance's cooperation with Ukraine as we are about the policy
of double standards in our northern neighbor's security approaches. The
rhetoric gets particularly tough when it comes to the right of sovereign Ukraine to
independently determine its own security policy. We keep trying to persuade our
Russian partners to change their categorical stance, taking present-day
realities into account. It is no secret that at the moment Russia is gaining far more in practical terms
from cooperation with NATO than Ukraine
is. In addition, Russia
declares interest in continued, deeper cooperation.
Therefore, there is no need
for, or sense in, blocking natural processes, which have already reached a
point of no return. Let's negotiate and develop beneficial, open and sincere
dialogue on security issues.
NATO is currently looking
for ways to adapt to new realities and conditions. The development of a new
strategy blueprint for the alliance is aimed precisely at that. We welcome
these efforts, and we are convinced that the new strategy should envisage all
future realities, including Ukraine's
membership of NATO and the development of collaboration with Russia.
We actively continue
diplomatic consultations with all our partners in the alliance, and we see that
some NATO member states still have doubts about the advisability of Ukraine gaining
membership in the alliance or even being granted a MAP.
I would like to advise them
not to form their opinion on Ukraine
on the basis of stereotypes of the past, much less under the influence of
external pressure.
It is very easy to dispel
the doubts: It is enough to compare the Ukraine
15 years ago with the present-day Ukraine and to make a fair
assessment of our progress and our bilateral cooperation with NATO.
We have in effect been
functioning under a MAP for quite a long time. Ukraine completely fulfills annual
target cooperation plans. Most of the basic criteria of reform and getting
closer to NATO standards have been met, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine are
ready for full-fledged integration into the alliance's unified system. Practice
shows that this is even more important than the formal presence or absence of
a MAP.
I would not like the
ongoing political developments in Ukraine to be used as a pretext. Democracy
is always a complicated political process. A consensus emerges in society as a
result of people being informed and making a conscious choice. These processes
are continuing. A national consensus is, meanwhile, reflected in legislation. Ukrainian
legislation, which has been approved jointly by the authorities and the
opposition, sets the goal of attaining NATO membership.
The MAP is just one of the
rungs of a ladder. It can either be included in the itinerary or be omitted. This
is not a decision on membership in the alliance. A decision will not be made
until both Ukraine
and NATO are ready. It is the forward outlook, political will and strategic
action that are topical today. New, enlarged Europe
has got a chance to finally do away with the division lines and zones of
influence that have lingered on since the times of the Cold War.
Do we see Europe
as strong, secure and united? If so, there are no obstacles to Ukraine being
granted NATO's MAP and membership.
Viktor Yushchenko is
the president of Ukraine.
International Herald Tribune
