Polish Senate Approves Resolution on Ukraine's Fast-Track Accession to NATO

, 12 May 2023, 10:24

The Polish Senate has called for Ukraine's accelerated accession to NATO, following the example of Sweden and Finland, and considers the July summit in Vilnius to be the key to this.

"After a year of horrific war, we know that Ukraine, by standing up to Russia, is defending Europe and is a key link in protecting the continent from aggression from the East."

As the document states, "Ukraine today has the strongest army on the continent with extraordinary combat experience. The Ukrainian army is rapidly re-equipping with NATO equipment and using operational strategy and tactics developed over decades by Western allies," Polskie Radio quotes the Polish Senate resolution.

"The defenders need real support through closer political and military cooperation with NATO countries," the document says.

The resolution states that during the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius, Ukraine should be offered "much more than previous statements of an open-door policy". The Vilnius summit should be an important stage in Ukraine's preparation for full membership, the senators stressed.

The Polish Senate believes that Ukraine's accession to NATO should be a political decision, as in the case of Finland and Sweden, and the result of a strategic analysis of challenges and threats beyond the Alliance's eastern border.

The resolution also says that if Russia defeats Ukraine, it will not stop at its western border. "The Alliance identified this threat at last year's NATO Summit in Madrid. Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia correctly assessed the Russian threat. Most European capitals are only now agreeing with us," the resolution says.

It also states that Finland and Sweden "have been invited to join NATO under a procedure that has never been used before".

"Although Sweden is still outside the structures of the pact, the Allies have decided that they will defend it. The Senate of the Republic of Poland calls on NATO member states to apply a similar emergency procedure to Ukraine," the resolution reads.

The resolution has also expressed support for the demands of the countries bordering Russia for strong security guarantees for Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insists that Ukraine will not agree to alternative proposals that could replace its membership in NATO.

Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, has stated that Ukraine will not be satisfied with any other decision of the NATO summit in Vilnius in July than real steps towards its membership of the Alliance.