H.E. Mr. Sergii Reva:

That is a very interesting question. As my curriculum vitaeshows, I was the political director in early 2000 and members may remember that back in 2002, if I am not mistaken, we took a historic decision to establish a Council for Defence and Security of Ukraine, stating that our strategic goal was to join NATO. Many may have forgotten the background to this decision. At that time Mr. Putin said that he did not rule out the possibility of Russia joining NATO. His statement is to be found on the historical file. At that time joining NATO would not have been viewed as anti-Russian. Unfortunately, step by step, the Russian position towards NATO has changed. Russia openly opposed all our steps to join NATO. The NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008 was a crucial moment. Mr. Putin attended that summit and spoke to each and every Head of State or Government, stating that Ukraine was not a state but merely an entity and therefore had no right to become a member of NATO. He tried to persuade his partners in Germany and France and other European states. The decision was to grant Ukraine membership of the action plan, a programme of preparation. I tried to explain to my colleagues the role of NATO. Many people in Ukraine and in Russia still live under a regime of Soviet propaganda, which views NATO as an aggressive military bloc.
Having studied the substance of the NATO treaty, I understand it is a political, defence and military organisation of democratic states. We were not admitted to NATO because we did not meet the requirements of NATO. To be a member of NATO, states must respect human rights. States do not usually have significant armed forces. When Mr. Yanukovych came to power, one of his first steps was to adopt a law on a so-called non-bloc status of Ukraine. That was to take account of the concerns of Russia about our intention to become a member of NATO.
As of two weeks ago, during this turbulent time, they should not raise the question of joining NATO. I am afraid that after these events public opinion in Ukraine will be radicalised and will be pro-NATO. The people believe NATO will guarantee our security and territorial integrity. Unfortunately Russia proved that it cannot guarantee it. I do not want to repeat these words, but do members understand what the Russian Federation is doing to Ukraine? Many people in Ukraine see that NATO can guarantee it. Because of our relationship with Russia we should not discuss this very delicate topic.
We will see what will happen in Ukraine, Russia, Europe and NATO. I believe we should come back to this issue at some stage in the future, but we should not discuss it now, especially in the current circumstances where it could provoke a more furious response from Russia. I do not think it is wise to raise the matter now.