Ukraine parliament votes to prioritize NATO accession

Ukraine’s parliament voted on June 8 for a bill that makes NATO membership a foreign policy priority. The legislation – which gained 276 votes, or 50 more than the needed majority – introduces amendments to current laws that are needed for membership. The legislation supports expanding and deepening Ukraine’s cooperation with NATO and strengthening national security, its sponsors wrote.

The Russian government is concerned about Ukraine’s plans for NATO accession, said after the vote Presidential Administration Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, as reported by the RBC news agency. “Traditionally, Moscow views NATO expansion towards its borders with distrust and concern,” Peskov said. “We believe that threatens our security and balance of power in the Eurasian region. It’s understood that the Russian side will use all necessary measures to balance the situation and ensure its own security.”

Zenon Zawada: Any progress Ukraine makes towards NATO accession significantly boosts the risk for expanded military aggression from Russia, which sees Ukraine’s NATO membership as a direct threat to its national security. Although Ukraine came close to adopting a NATO Membership Action Plan in 2008, we are confident NATO leaders have no desire to provoke a military conflict with Russia by granting anything similar this time around, let alone membership. As a result, the best Ukraine can hope for is closer cooperation with the military alliance (without any formal accessions), which this legislation seems to accomplish nonetheless.