Ukrainian servicemen during the active phase of the joint military exercises between Ukraine and NATO countries Rapid TridentMOSCOW, 23 Jan. The United States should postpone for several decades the idea of accepting Ukraine into NATO. This opinion was expressed in an op-ed for The New York Times by American political commentator Ross Dautat. the author of the material stated. However, Ukraine, according to him, is divided and economically weak, therefore it is not ready to fully become part of the West. Denying Kiev admission to NATO, according to Dautat, will sow doubts about the seriousness of Washington's intentions in other directions. «And if we can't immediately abandon this idea, the idea of abandoning it for some long period — for example, 25 years <…> seems very reasonable,» he added. Moscow is concerned that NATO and the United States they are trying to turn Ukraine into a military foothold against Russia, continuing the military development of its territory and drawing it into the alliance. At the end of last year, Russia handed over draft treaties and agreements on security guarantees to the United States and NATO, which, in a legally binding form, should exclude the further expansion of the alliance through Ukraine and Georgia and the emergence of Western military bases and strike weapons near Russian borders. President Vladimir Putin stressed that further expansion of the bloc to the east and the deployment of offensive weapons on Ukrainian territory and in neighboring countries are red lines for Moscow. NATO The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in December 2014 amended two laws, abandoning the non-bloc status of the state. In February 2019, the Ukrainian parliament adopted amendments to the constitution, securing the country's course towards the EU and NATO. Ukraine has become the sixth state to receive NATO Enhanced Opportunities Partner status. Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said earlier that in order to join the alliance, Ukraine will need to achieve a number of criteria, the implementation of which will take a lot of time. Experts believe that Kiev will not be able to apply for NATO membership in the next 20 years.
