At the Washington summit, Ukraine should receive an invitation to NATO, which will be tantamount to the start of accession talks - Arseniy Yatsenyuk at the KSF

“I believe that during the Washington NATO summit, Ukraine should receive an invitation, which will be tantamount to the start of Alliance accession talks”, - stressed Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum, Prime Minister of Ukraine 2014-2016 at the KSF on October 23, 2023.

During the event, the Atlantic Council’s address as the Memo to the US President on Ukraine’s accession to NATO was presented.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk emphasized that this document by the Atlantic Council is a “road map” on how to make Ukraine a member of the Alliance.

“We can discuss technical nuances. But this is not a mere matter of some technical nuances, it is a matter of history,” he emphasized.

“There is no other option for Ukraine, for the Ukrainian people, and for the entire free world, than to make Ukraine a member of NATO,” the head of the KSF emphasized.

According to him, the most difficult thing will be to “convince everyone in NATO to have a common standpoint”, so that countries like Hungary and Turkey can take part in the accelerated process “to help Ukraine join NATO as soon as possible.”

“I believe that a decision will be taken in Washington. I am convinced that the Washington summit will put together real efforts and take a final decision of such great importance for the Ukrainian people to make Ukraine a member of NATO. And to demonstrate to the entire world that we have no fear, that we believe in free world, and are ready to defend the free world together with Ukraine,” Arseniy Yatsenyuk emphasized.

At the Q&A session with the guests of the event, a possibility of a “plan B” in case of a different course of actions was discussed, and the head of the KSF emphasized the following: “This is not a plan B, it is a capitulation and complete surrender. The Chinese, the russians, and even the Global South are watching closely if the US demonstrates its leadership in the free world. Will the free world be able to defend itself, will it have the courage to defend democracy, freedom, even human lives? Is the free world ready to fight? So, there is no other option for the free world. There may be multiple plans B, but they all will be to the benefit of totalitarian regimes.”

The Kyiv Security Forum, founded by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s “Open Ukraine” Foundation, is the main platform in this country for discussing issues of war and peace, national and global security.