“It is also written in our agreement (on security guarantees – ed.) with Ukraine that this agreement is on the way to NATO membership. And this is not an alternative to NATO. I think that the guarantee that Ukraine should have is Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization agreement,” Harris said.
According to him, through the implementation of the security agreement, Britain can be sure that this will bring closer the moment when Ukraine joins NATO.
The ambassador also said that the agreement states that Britain will support Ukraine in the long term.
“But even now we are the first country that has provided all the funding for this. It is also our position now that we will give 3 billion pounds sterling annually to protect Ukraine, until 2030, but as much as is needed. Because of this agreement We also have financial resources that can ensure our cooperation, strengthening the Armed Forces of Ukraine and all the opportunities that are important for Ukraine’s future integration into NATO,” Harris added.
According to the British ambassador, “this is a real financing plan, with an agreement that now exists in favor of Ukraine.”
Ukraine’s accession to NATO
Let us recall that Ukraine expected to receive an official invitation to join the Alliance at the NATO summit held in Washington in July this year, but this never happened.
At the same time, NATO has repeatedly stated that it is keeping the “door open” for Ukraine. At the same time, the allies are hinting that Ukraine will not be able to join the Alliance until the end of the war.
Let us add that recently, during a conversation with journalists, President Vladimir Zelensky announced the consensus of the majority of NATO countries regarding inviting Ukraine to the bloc.
At the same time, he spoke about the restrained position of several countries. According to him, Germany, in particular, has skepticism, but he is convinced that changing Berlin’s position depends on the United States.
The United States claims that NATO is not yet ready to offer Ukraine membership in the Alliance.
Read urgent and important messages about Russia’s war against Ukraine on the channel RBC-Ukraine on Telegram.
