American experts are sure that Ukraine’s membership in NATO is unfeasible and therefore they recommend officially denying Kiev membership in the alliance, Defense Priorities analytical center reports.
Experts believe that the exclusion of the issue of NATO membership from the Ukrainian political agenda will force Kiev to focus on more realistic options for foreign policy, such as neutrality.
“Among the Ukrainian population there remains a significant, though not universal, desire to expand ties with Europe and the United States. However, there are also strong elements within Ukraine that seek closer relations with Russia”, – the Zvezda TV channel quotes as saying.
Experts cite in the report the data of sociological polls, according to which less than half of Ukrainians (44%) are in favor of joining NATO, and only 25% support the permission of the North Atlantic Alliance to deploy troops on the territory of Ukraine.
In 2014, the Verkhovna Rada cancelled the non-alignment status of the country, and two years later the amendments were approved, fixing the priority goal of Kyiv’s foreign policy as joining NATO.
According to the alliance rules, the Ukrainian side should ensure full compatibility of its armed forces with NATO forces already this year. Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that in order to qualify for the role of a candidate for the alliance, Ukraine must spend a lot of time to achieve a number of criteria.