“There is no full-fledged alternative to NATO in the foreseeable future. Ukraine is pursuing the right policy — maintaining its course toward membership while also seeking additional tools to strengthen its own capabilities. There is a strategic direction, and there are tactical formats that simply help advance along that path.”

Sergiy Solodkyy, Director of the New Europe Center, commented to media Grunt on the transformation of transatlantic relations and Ukraine’s security policy.

Against the backdrop of the crisis facing traditional alliances and the rethinking of NATO’s role, the Director of the New Europe Center stresses that while Ukraine remains committed to its path toward NATO membership, it is also developing parallel formats of security cooperation. In his view, the key is not to set these tracks against each other, but to make them mutually reinforcing. Even agreements that remain out of the public eye and do not produce an obvious effect today may prove valuable in the future.

Regarding Ukraine’s prospects for NATO membership, the expert emphasized that the stronger Ukraine becomes, the more valuable an ally and prospective member it will be for the Alliance.

On the role of the United States in ensuring European security, Sergiy Solodkyy noted: “The United States is right that it cannot single-handedly bear responsibility for protecting democratic values around the world. All the more so, it cannot and should not do so in parts of the world where states have sufficient resources but lack the political will to develop their own capabilities.”

Read more via the link here (in Ukrainian).