The Chair of the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU addressed the III Youth Model of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze said that it was symbolic that the final meeting of this assembly took place immediately after the spring session of the NATO PA in Luxembourg, in which the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation participated. “We can report on good, positive news. Another ambitious resolution was adopted, which for the first time mentions the genocide of the Ukrainian people, carried out by the Russian Federation through the forcible deportation of children. Also, for the first time in an international document, apart from historical studies, the condemnation of the policy of the Russian regime as ruscism is used,” said the Chair of the Committee.

The most important point, according to her, is that in this resolution the MPs of the NATO member countries call on their governments to make already in Vilnius a decision that would determine the next steps on Ukraine's path to the Alliance. Although the decisions of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly are purely advisory, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly defines the political standard to which governments must heed. “Members of the democratic parliaments are the people who represent citizens. And in democracies, governments are obliged to listen to parliaments. This does not mean that they have to do exactly what the assembly proposed, but they should take into account the political will of the representatives of the citizens of various member countries of the Alliance,” commented Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze on the adopted declaration of the NATO PA.

Regarding the upcoming summit of the Alliance in Vilnius, in July this year, the Chair of the Committee stated that Ukraine hopes for an invitation to NATO during this event. “We believe that we deserve it. We are sure that the Alliance made a mistake at the Bucharest Summit in 2008 when it did not provide Georgia and Ukraine with the Membership Action Plan,” she said. At the same time, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze noted that today, unfortunately, there is no consensus on inviting Ukraine to NATO at the Vilnius summit. “There is a common vision, and its specific details are being discussed, regarding how to introduce additional tools to our cooperation and interaction with the Alliance. This means the strengthening of the comprehensive assistance package. It is possible – and this would be an ambitious step – that the format of the Ukraine-NATO Commission will transfer to the format of the Ukraine-NATO Council. Ukraine also should be involved in additional formats of presence in the Alliance — in the headquarters or in the military leadership of the Alliance. However, these instruments are not enough for us Ukrainians. I would like to see a political solution already in Vilnius,” said the Chair of the Committee. This decision, in her opinion, should specify in what way Ukraine should move towards NATO membership. This should be the path that Finland and Sweden are currently taking. “So, after the end of this war, we would become a member of the Alliance. There would be no lasting, reliable, sustainable peace in Europe without Ukraine in NATO. And this is our task, together with you, to convey this argument to our partners,” Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze concluded.