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Transcript/ScriptNATO UKRAINE
HEADLINE: Ukraine to Push for Invitation to NATO at Vilnius Summit
TEASER: US, Germany worry that Ukraine membership will push alliance into direct confrontation with Russia
PUBLISHED: 07/10/2023
BYLINE: Myroslava Gongadze
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Warsaw
VIDEOGRAPHER: Daniil Batushchak, Agencies
SCRIPT EDITORS: LR, Reifenrath, SV (ok)
PRODUCER:
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA ORIGINAL, REUTERS, APTN
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB _X_ TV X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:19
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TV PKG
EDITORS' NOTES:
((INTRO:))
[[At the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, this week, a main question will be whether Ukraine should join the alliance, even though there will be no vote on the issue. The U.S. and Germany worry its admission could lead NATO into a direct confrontation with Russia. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to attend. VOA Eastern Europe Bureau Chief Myroslava Gongadze reports.]]
((video REUTERS, AP))
((NARRATOR))
With the annual NATO summit set to start Tuesday in Vilnius, Lithuana, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week visited member states and signed bilateral agreements supporting Ukraine's bid to join the alliance, even though no vote on its candidacy is planned. At a stop in the Czech Republic, he addressed the membership issue.
((Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President - MALE IN UKRAINIAN))
“Some are still looking at Moscow, some are afraid of Russia, but I believe it is a moment to demonstrate bravery and unity of the alliance. We are talking about clear signals and concrete steps toward invitation."
[[RADIO VERSION: He said that some nations are still looking at Moscow and are afraid of it. The Ukrainian leader challenged those nations, saying that it is the moment
to demonstrate the bravery and unity of the alliance, and that Ukraine wants to see clear signals and concrete steps toward membership.]]
((NARRATOR))
Lithuania’s former Defense Minister Rasa Juknevičienė, a member of the European Parliament, says NATO’s members in Eastern Europe are its biggest proponents.
((REST OPT))
((Rasa Juknevičienė, EU Parliament – FEMALE IN ENGLISH))
“Baltic states, Poland, Czech Republic, I would say the whole eastern part, those who joined NATO and understand and enjoy what they got from that membership and understand very well.”
((video VOA original, REUTERS, AP))
((NARRATOR))
In contrast to many NATO member states, the US and Germany think Ukraine isn’t ready yet politically or militarily and are worried that welcoming Ukraine could eventually drag the alliance into a direct conflict with Russia.
Before departing for Europe this week, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Ukraine still needs to lay some groundwork before it can join NATO.
((Jake Sullivan, US National Security Adviser – MALE IN ENGLISH))
"Vilnius will be an important moment on that pathway towards membership because the United States or NATO allies and Ukraine will have the opportunity to discuss the reforms that are still necessary for Ukraine to come up to NATO's standard.”
((NARRATOR))
NATO has said it is ready to support Ukraine’s reforms to its security and defense systems.
Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk argues that Ukraine is ready for membership, and that it will benefit NATO.
((Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Former Prime Minister of Ukraine, MALE IN ENGLISH))
“Ukraine practically demilitarized [the] Russian military, conventional troops, so it is going to take another decade for Russia just to revamp, restore and rebuild its
conventional forces in Europe. So the skills, the experience, and the combat experience that the Ukrainian military has is just unbelievable. So it's definitely in the interest of the NATO member states to have Ukraine in.”
((NARRATOR))
((video VOA original, REUTERS, AP))
Polls show that more than 80 percent of Ukrainians want their country to join NATO. Yatsenyuk says their expectations of the NATO Vilnius Summit are clear.
((Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Former Prime Minister of Ukraine, MALE IN ENGLISH))
"The Ukranian people expect that during the Vilnius summit that Ukraine at least is to get an invitation to join NATO. I am quite realistic, and I do believe that our NATO partners will find the political will not just to issue another declaration with vague and ambiguous definitions. The door is open.”
((ENGLISH VERSION: GONGADZE STANDUP.))
((HOUSE VERSION: REUTERS, AP, Vilnius preparations for summit))
((Myroslava Gongadze, VOA Eastern Europe Bureau Chief))
The two-day NATO summit could be either a historic moment for NATO or perhaps a missed opportunity. Some analysts say the alliance will find a middle-ground solution.
[[please cut the dateline—she says it in the wrong order)) ((Myroslava Gongadze, VOA News, Warsaw, Poland))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Warsaw
Embargo DateJuly 10, 2023 23:44 EDT
Byline
Myroslava Gongadze
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
