NATO PA endorses clear membership perspective for Ukraine

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly endorsed giving
Ukraine “a clear membership perspective” in a special report published on Nov.
19. The report calls for extending a perspective for both NATO and EU
membership to Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, and Macedonia. It also calls
for resolving the problem of “gray zones” in eastern Europe in order to limit
the space for Russian hybrid warfare. The report, “Countering Russian Hybrid
Warfare,” was authored by NATO PA member Lord Thomas Michael Jopling.

Zenon Zawada: EU and NATO
officials will always be offering Ukraine positive signals towards eventual
membership. Yet the reality on the ground is starkly different. In the last
five years, member states like Hungary and Italy have become clearly aligned
with Russia. And populist-nationalist politicians are continuing to make gains
in European legislatures.

Even if Russian-aligned forces weren’t making gains,
the Western establishment understands that Ukrainian membership in NATO would
provoke the Russian government to drastic measures. And that’s even if Ukraine
were to undertake all the necessary reforms to even be considered for
membership. So while such reports will continue to be published encouraging
Ukrainian membership, we don’t expect it will happen so long as the Russian
Federation is intact and remains hostile to the West.