The Atlantic Council presented the "Memorandum to the U.S. President

Representatives of the Washington Think Tank “Atlantic Council” have presented the Memo to the U.S. President to Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine Oleksii Danilov. The Memo provides for a number of measures which, accordi\ng to the document’s authors, may be used by NATO to help Ukraine win the war against russian aggression and join the Alliance.

According to Senior Director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, the Memo to the President contains three main messages. The first one is calling for a stronger stand against russian aggression. The second one refers to advanced weapons that Ukraine needs to win. And the third message is, in fact, about the help for Ukraine in joining the Alliance.

Presenting the document, John Herbst emphasised that in his address to the American people dated 19 October 2023, the U.S. President Joe Biden had already partially reaffirmed one of the points of global support for Ukraine. In particular, he had asked the Congress to continue to send Ukraine the weapons needed for the ongoing defence so that the country could stop the brutality of the russian invasion.

In the course of the Memo discussion, U.S. Ambassador to NATO in 2013-2017 Douglas Edward Lute elaborated on military assistance to Ukraine. He emphasised two key points. The first was that the United States and its allies and partners should change their approach to providing Ukraine with weapons: more advanced weapons and military equipment are needed in sufficient quantity and on time. This is a prerequisite for defeating russians and for keeping them out of Europe.

“The second point was to call on Joe Biden to support the lifting of restrictions on Ukraine’s use of weapons provided by NATO member states”, – explained Douglas Lute.

Former NATO Deputy Secretary General Aleksander Russell Vershbow noted that the Memo’s main idea is Ukraine’s security.

“Ukraine will not be safe until it joins NATO. The bilateral guarantees signed in Vilnius are good for the transition period, but the ultimate goal should be Ukraine’s membership in NATO”, – he underlined.

Also, Vershbow added that before Ukraine’s official invitation to join the Alliance at the next summit in Washington,, DC, it is important to get a compromise decision from all NATO member states on the help the country needs to join the Alliance as soon as possible.

For his part, Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine Oleksii Danilov thanked the representatives of the Atlantic Council for the support of Ukraine, and noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are constantly proving their high combat capability and effectiveness on the battlefield.

“We have proved that the russian federation is not the second army of the world. And when we ask for military assistance, it is about the lives of our children”, – he concluded.

For reference: The Memo to the President was signed by more than 40 leading diplomats and global national security experts. The document has been presented in view of the allies’ preparation for the upcoming NATO summit to be held in 2024 in Washington, DC.