Kuleba: EU, NATO membership for Ukraine guarantees European security

Ukraine's membership in the EU and NATO will "guarantee the security of the European continent for the next decade," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at the U.S.-Adriatic Charter informal meeting on March 28.

Kuleba was speaking online as an honorary guest of the U.S.-Adriatic Charter informal meeting in Skopje at Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani's invitation.

"The Adriatic Charter contributed to the accession of the Balkan states to NATO. Ukraine is currently on the way to becoming a member of the Alliance, so we understand how important it is," Kuleba said.

The U.S.-Adriatic Charter was signed in 2003 by Albania, Croatia, and North Macedonia, and the U.S. Its goal was to promote stability and cooperation between the Balkan countries and move them closer to NATO membership.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro became members in 2008, while Serbia and Kosovo became observers in 2008 and 2012, respectively. Out of all the members, only Bosnia and Herzegovina is not part of NATO.

Kuleba went on to say that Ukraine is securing the defense of the European continent with military aid provided by its western allies and that Russia was the "most destructive and aggressive power in modern history."

According to the results of a survey published by the Bertelsmann Foundation on March 22, 65% of Europeans support Ukraine joining EU in the next few years.

Ukraine obtained EU candidate status in June after applying for membership a few days after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The results of a poll conducted by the Rating Group in January found that a record 86% of Ukrainians support their country joining NATO.

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Kyiv IndependentThaisa Semenova