More than 150 representatives of American and European universities in an open letter supported Ukraine’s accession to NATO in contrast to their colleagues who criticized Kyiv’s possible accession to the Alliance, Hromadske reports.
This is stated in a letter published by the Guardian.
In total, 158 people have publicly supported Ukraine’s accession to NATO, including representatives of universities in North America and Europe, diplomats, economists, and journalists. In particular, the signatories include representatives of Yale, Cambridge, California, Harvard, and other leading universities.
The signatories note that the arguments against Ukraine’s membership in NATO, which have been repeatedly cited since the beginning of Russia’s attack on Ukraine in 2014, ultimately repeat the same concern: any move will be perceived as a threat to Russia’s security and thus provoke a larger conflict. However, as the letter notes, Russia calmly accepted the accession to NATO of Finland and Sweden, two of its neighbors.
It is time to recognize that Russia opposes Ukraine’s membership in NATO only because it will prevent its further aggression against this country, – the signatories emphasize.
In addition, it is stated that Russia has not attacked any NATO member, but has instead threatened or invaded non-NATO countries: Georgia, Moldova, and now Ukraine.
It is noted that Russia’s revived imperialist militarism can only be deterred by the existence of a much stronger military alliance.
The territorial boundary between NATO and non-NATO countries has so far proved to be the only red line that Russia has (albeit cautiously) respected, even while violating numerous other international treaties and agreements, – the letter emphasizes.
What preceded it?
Before the NATO summit in Washington, on July 9-11, representatives of several universities in Europe and the United States signed an open letter calling for Ukraine not to be invited to join the Alliance because of the risk of war with Russia. The letter was signed by 61 academics.
According to the signatories, any step to bring Ukraine closer to NATO membership, including the definition of the accession process, “would be unwise” because it would lead to a war with Russian troops.
In addition, the authors of the letter called it “wishful thinking” that Ukraine’s accession to NATO would deter Russia from invading again.
