Robert Ondrejcsak: NATO-oriented policy must be supported by a cycle of elections in Ukraine

The strategic course towards NATO membership must be stable and approved not by a single government or composition of parliament, but by several cycles of political leadership, said Robert Ondrejcsak, the Director of Centre for European and North Atlantic Affairs, State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic (2010-2012), during the 8th Kyiv Security Forum organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation.

"There should be a political decision in Ukraine at for the strategic course of the country. And this course should be stable. It is not enough to win a single election. And the experience of other Eastern European countries shows that single parliamentary or presidential elections would not be enough to declare Euro-Atlantic course. This course has to be confirmed by several waves, several cycles of political leadership are needed,"- he said.

According to the Slovak expert, it took over 10 years for his country after to implement the political decision on NATO membership.

R.Ondrejcsak also said that none of the experts or officials can talk about any specific date when Ukraine might become a NATO member: "This is like crystal-ball gazing. Much depends on external factors, on domestic political processes, the success of the reformation process".

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The annual international event ‘Kyiv Security Forum’, established by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation in 2007 is a platform for discussion of the most pressing issues concerning the security in Europe and the Black Sea region. The Forum is aimed at promoting security cooperation between the European Union and the Black Sea Region, raising awareness of the development of security among key players and strengthening the role of independent and non-governmental actors in solving security problems in Europe.