Boris Johnson: Ukraine’s problem cannot be resolved without long-term NATO membership
"I don’t hear anyone saying that when this catastrophe ends, NATO membership should be the solution for Ukraine. I think that’s a big mistake," Johnson said.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stated that achieving long-term peace in Ukraine is impossible without granting the country membership in NATO.
Johnson made this assertion in an interview with Delfi, as reported by European Pravda.
Johnson emphasized that prior to the full-scale war, Ukrainians could not realistically expect NATO membership in the near future. “The reality was that the French were strongly opposed, the Germans were strongly opposed, not to mention the Hungarians and others,” he explained.
“It simply wasn’t on the international agenda. An invitation for Ukraine to join NATO was out of the question. But paradoxically, Putin’s invasion—his barbaric decision to act as he did—has now, in my view, turned NATO membership for Ukraine into a moral and strategic imperative,” Johnson argued.
However, he noted that the current problem lies in the lack of active discussion on this issue.
“I don’t hear anyone saying that when this catastrophe ends, NATO membership should be the solution for Ukraine. People have stopped talking about it. And I think that’s a big, big mistake because once again, the West is retreating,” Johnson remarked.
In November, Boris Johnson urged the international community to provide Ukraine with a $500 billion credit to help the country conclude the war and to announce a definitive timeline for Ukraine’s accession to NATO.
He also expressed the belief that British troops might be deployed to Ukraine if US President-elect Donald Trump reduces military aid to Kyiv.
