Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that his country was applying “under an accelerated procedure” to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
He signed Ukraine’s candidacy together with Speaker of Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk and Prime Minister Denys Shmygal.
“It is here, in Ukraine, that the values of our Euro-Atlantic community have gotten real vital energy,” Zelensky said in a pre-recorded video message. “The strength of the nation that fights for freedom, and the strength of the nations that help in this fight.”
He said that “de facto” Ukraine had already “completed its path” to NATO.
“Today, Ukraine is asking to do so de jure. In a procedure consistent with our importance to the protection of our entire community, in an expedited procedure,” he said. .
Zelensky said he understood membership would require consensus from NATO members.
“And therefore, while this is happening, we propose to implement our proposals regarding security guarantees for Ukraine and all of Europe in accordance with the Kyiv Security Pact, which has been drawn up and presented to our partners .”
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday that member states of the alliance support “Ukraine’s right to choose its own path” after Zelensky’s announcement.
And Stoltenberg warned that any decision on membership must be made by the 30-member alliance.
“The NATO allies, when they met at the NATO summit in Madrid, also made it very clear that we support Ukraine’s right to choose its own path, to decide on the type of arrangements security she wants to be a part of,” Stoltenberg told a press conference. .
“Every democracy in Europe has the right to apply for NATO membership, and NATO allies respect that right and we have said time and time again that the door to NATO remains open. And we have demonstrated that ‘during the last [few] years,” he said.
CNN’s Sharon Braithwaite and Arnaud Siad contributed to this post.
