**Ukraine Shifts Focus to Security Guarantees**
Ukraine’s accession to NATO remains on the agenda, but diplomatic efforts are now focused on obtaining strong security guarantees. Andrii Melnyk, Ukraine’s newly-appointed envoy to the U.N., made this clear in an interview with Berliner Morgenpost on December 27.
**Security Guarantees Over NATO Membership**
Melnyk emphasized that Ukraine’s current priority is securing robust guarantees for its defense rather than pursuing NATO membership in the immediate term. This shift in focus comes after the Foreign Ministry rejected any security guarantees that would substitute full membership in the alliance earlier this month.
**Need for Concrete Commitments**
Melnyk stressed the need for concrete commitments from partners, saying “Our partners should carefully write down what military means they will use to defend Ukraine if Russia attacks again.” He highlighted the importance of going beyond “purely political promises” like the Budapest Memorandum.
**Guarantees Can Take Many Forms**
The guarantees could take the form of bilateral or multilateral agreements with EU and NATO countries, or even become part of a broader peace treaty with Russia. Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons from the Soviet era in the Budapest Memorandum in 1994.
**Resistance to Ukraine’s NATO Aspirations**
Ukraine’s NATO aspirations continue to face resistance from several member states, including Germany, Slovakia, and Hungary. Washington is also unlikely to be receptive, as members of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump‘s team have largely spoken out against a quick accession for Kyiv.
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