You're reading: Yatsenyuk regrets that some states are unwilling to accept Ukraine as NATO member

Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk has reiterated the importance of Ukraine's membership of NATO and regrets that some states are not prepared to back Ukraine's accession to the alliance.

“Unfortunately, not the whole world ready to pass such a decision. The thing that Ukraine was refused in 2008 in signing an action plan on NATO membership today has become a big geopolitical drama. After Ukraine and Georgia failed to sign the NATO Membership Action Plan, Russia carried out a military aggression in Georgia. This was the consequence of an irresponsible decision. And then the aggressor went further, for Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk,” he said during the opening ceremony of the Alley of Glory at the Hetman Petro Sahaidachny Academy of Ground Forces in Lviv on Aug. 23.

Yatsenyuk went on to address the European partners of Ukraine.

“Today we defend the borders of Europe. We fight not just for our security, we stand the peace in European Union member states. We struggle for the values of the free world, against Russia military aggression. And this is a common struggle of Ukraine and the whole civilized and free world, our western partners – United States, Canada, EU member states and other of G7,” he said.