Condoleezza Rice spoke about a "disgusting" moment involving Putin during the NATO summit in Bucharest

Ukraine should have received an action plan for NATO membership at the 2008 Alliance summit in Bucharest.

Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State in 2005-09, spoke about this in her address to the participants of the 15th annual Kyiv Security Forum, founded by the Arseniy Yatsenyuk Foundation “Open Ukraine”.

“This mentioned summit was able to offer Ukraine and Georgia an action plan regarding the membership, to give them both a path to NATO membership. That day we decided that it could not be done. And that was despite the fact that the USA and President Bush were certain that the time had come to provide Ukraine with a MAP,” she said.

“Still, that day we also made a very important statement: that one day Ukraine will become a member of NATO. I am still convinced of this,” the ex-Secretary of State emphasized.

Condoleezza Rice recalled the “disgusting moment that day” when Vladimir Putin called Ukraine a “fictional country.”

“He said that Ukraine was not real. Now he finally understands – through the incredible skill of the Ukrainian army and the incredible devotion of the Ukrainian people – that Ukraine is very real, that there is a strong national idea that burns in the heart of every Ukrainian,” she said.

Ms Rice added that the future of Ukraine is in many ways the future of Europe.

“And therefore, restoring territorial integrity, bringing to justice war criminals and rebuilding Ukraine will happen with our assistance and that of all free peoples of the whole world,” she summarized.

The Kyiv Security Forum, founded by Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s “Open Ukraine” Foundation, is the main platform in our country to discuss issues of war and peace, national and global security.