Ukraine has all the tools it needs to move towards NATO membership, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
“We support Ukraine membership in NATO. It currently has all of the tools it needs since the Membership Action Plan was created, a number of other very important tools were developed to help countries prepare for possible NATO membership, including an annual program that Ukraine benefits from. In our estimation, Ukraine has all the tools it needs to continue to move forward in this direction,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a hearing at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to Senator Rob Portman’s website on June 8.
He said that the MAP itself must be approved in full agreement with other NATO members. “I think that there are some countries that are less supportive than others of that right now, but back to the MAP, Ukraine has all tools it needs to move forward toward being ready for membership in the future.”
At the same time, Blinken pointed out the importance of fighting corruption in Ukraine.
“The other part of that, however, as you know, given all the time and investment that you have put into this, is just as important as preparing militarily, strategically, it’s preparation about good governance and dealing with aggression that corrodes Ukraine from the inside, and this is corruption and a system that effectively works to combat it. So we also need to see constant progress from Ukraine at this level,” he said.
