NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg used his televised platform in the Verkhovna Rada on July 10 to offer tough love to the assembled lawmakers and other VIPs.
Stoltenberg said that the 29-nation alliance will never recognize Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, demanded that Russia ends its war against Ukraine and promised financial support — all music to the ears of Ukrainian politicians.
“NATO does not, and will not, recognize Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea,” Stoltenberg said. “Russia, and you know this better than anybody else, is trying to destabilize Ukraine, through its support of militants in the east, OYD cyber-attacks, disinformation and, not least, by the presence of Russian forces in eastern Ukraine. This must end.”
However, the secretary general also said Ukraine must fight corruption and strengthen its democratic institutions if it is serious about joining the NATO alliance. Membership requires unanimous support among all 29 nations that make up the alliance and many nations are against NATO membership for Ukraine.
The fact that Stoltenberg raised the need to fight corruption so directly in front of Ukraine’s elected parliamentarians is apt. Lawmakers are part of an institution widely distrusted by Ukrainians and widely seen as made up of too many lawmakers who are corrupt obstructionists who enjoy legal immunity from criminal prosecution.
“The road to NATO membership is not easy,” Stoltenberg said. “For those who seek it, it requires dedication and substantial reform.”
He said that “while NATO can support, it’s for Ukraine to lead.” He said Ukraine must “strengthen its institutions and it must rid itself of the cancer of corruption,” which he said stands in the way of a secure and prosperous future for the Ukrainian people.
“You have already made some remarkable progress, but there is still a very long way to go,” the secretary general said. “Clear leadership is needed at every level across Ukrainian society…it must come from the president, the prime minister and from you, the elected representatives of the people.”
He urged Ukraine to fight corruption, strengthen THE rule of law and “bring transparency to all parts of public life.”
“This is a time for heroes,” Stoltenberg said. “and Ukraine needs them more than ever. Not just in the field of battle but right here in parliament, in government, in business, in civil society. Ukraine needs heroes to stand up to all those who seek to stifle its bright future and to fight corruption wherever — and in whatever form — it exists.” He said the nation needs modern armed forces, strong, accountable democratic institutions and for its leaders to “be the best you can be.”
He concluded by saying that NATO has stood by Ukraine for 20 years and “will continue to stand with you in the long and difficult years ahead.”
Joining the NATO military alliance is a formal goal of Ukraine’s leaders, adopted just this year, and President Petro Poroshenko said the nation will develop a plan to achieve clear goals by 2020 on the path to membership. Some 69 percent of Ukrainians support joining NATO, according to a June poll by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation, as reported by Reuters on July 10.
