Russia’s announced
annexation of 4 regions in the east of neighbouring Ukraine-Donetsk, Luhansk,
Kherson and Zaporizhzhia-following sham referendums has been firmly criticised
and condemned by Western countries.
After Russia’s president
Vladimir Putin organised a ceremony in Moscow, proclaiming the 4
partly-occupied regions Russian territory, the president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy
responded with an application for fast-track NATO membership.
Alongside the presidents of
other Central and Eastern European NATO member states, including the Czech
Republic, North Macedonia, Poland, Montenegro, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania, the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis signed a joint
declaration reiterating support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial
integrity.
We, Presidents of states
in Central and Eastern Europe, countries whose leaders have visited Kyiv during
the war and witnessed with their own eyes the effects of Russian aggression,
cannot stay silent in the face of the blatant violation of international law by
the Russian Federation, and therefore are issuing the following statement: We
reiterate our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
We do not recognize and will never recognize Russian attempts to annex any
Ukrainian territory,ˮ reads the joint statement.
The signatories say they
firmly support the decision made at the 2008 NATO Summit in Bucharest regarding
Ukraine’s future accession to the organisation. They also call on Moscow to
immediately pull out of all the occupied territories.
We support Ukraine in
its defence against Russia’s invasion, demand Russia to immediately withdraw
from all the occupied territories and encourage all Allies to substantially
increase their military aid to Ukraine. All those who commit crimes of
aggression must be held accountable and brought to justice, the document also
reads.
Ukraine’s presidential
adviser Mykhailo Podolyak thanked the countries that back Ukraine’s NATO
accession. We are grateful for the leadership and responsibility. History is
being made today,ˮ he posted on Twitter.
In turn, the NATO
secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said a decision on Kyiv’s accession
application must be taken by all the 30 member countries, and reiterated the
alliance’s open-door policy. Any nation, including, of course, Ukraine, has the
right to choose its own path, including the security arrangements it wants to
join, Jens Stoltenberg also pointed out. He added that at present the main
priority for the Allies and their partners is to support Ukraine.
The US and Canada have
also backed Ukraine’s NATO accession, but without making any reference to the
fast-track procedure requested by Kyiv. (A.M.P.)