Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday, December 21 expressed his frustration at the reluctance of NATO and the European Union, cautious vis-à-vis the pressure from Kiev which requires membership against the backdrop of a crisis with Moscow.
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“We cannot accept the idea, which is very popular today, about (Ukraine’s accession to) the EU in 30 years and (to) NATO in about 50 years. It demotivates and slows down everyone», He declared in front of the Ukrainian diplomatic corps. Ukraine aspires to “obtain entry into the EU in the coming years and a timetable for NATO membership“In 2022, continued the head of state during this meeting in western Ukraine.
One of the poorest countries in Europe, this former Soviet republic of some 40 million inhabitants has been asking for years to join the EU and NATO, which support Kiev in the face of its conflict with Russia but exclude any membership short term. An enlargement of NATO to include ex-Soviet countries is a red line for Russia which regards the West as its strategic rivals and has handed Washington a list of demands, including a ban on any expansion of the Alliance towards eastern Europe. If NATO has rejected for the time being the Russian complaint concerning the accession of Ukraine, no deadline has been set for its possible entry.
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Volodymyr Zelensky’s statements come as Russia is accused of having massed some 100,000 troops around Ukraine in preparation for a possible invasion of its neighbor. The two countries have been at daggers drawn since Moscow’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 followed by a war in eastern Ukraine with pro-Russian separatists of whom Moscow is, despite its denials, considered the military godfather.
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The onset of the crisis with Moscow in 2014 markedly increased the popularity of NATO membership, currently supported by 58% of Ukrainians and that of NATO (62%), according to a poll released in November by the Ukrainian Institute Rating.