Rose Gottemoeller: Ukraine’s Accession to NATO and EU is Realistic Goal

Rose Gottemoeller, the NATO Deputy Secretary General, believes that joining NATO and the EU is a realistic goal for Ukraine. She stated this during the 11^th Kyiv Security Forum organized by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine.

“It is not that idealistic for Ukraine to have Euro-Atlantic aspirations, to be willing to join the European Union and NATO. I believe that these are very important and realistic goals. But I would not conceal from you that before you are ready to join NATO, you have to perform a very difficult work”, she emphasized.

According to R.Goethemuller, in particular, Ukraine needs to reform its defense institutions, including the Ministry of the Interior, and carry out other reforms.

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The annual international event Kyiv Security Forum was launched by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation Open Ukraine in 2007 as a platform for high-level discussions on the current issues in Europe and the Black Sea region. The Forum aims at increasing security cooperation between the EU and the Black Sea region, raising awareness about regional developments among key regional players, promoting the role of independent and non-governmental actors in setting the security agenda in Europe.

The event is being held with the support of NATO Information and Documentation Center in Ukraine, the German Marshall Fund, The Victor Pinchuk Foundation, The Royal Institute of International Relations, Chatham House (UK), and The Regional Representative Office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Ukraine.