Ukraine’s nuclear option

By Georgi Gotev

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made it plain in Brussels yesterday (17 October): if his country does not get a NATO invite immediately, it will develop nuclear weapons.

Facing the press after his participation at the EU summit, Zelenskyy was asked how he hoped to convince the US President, whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump, that Ukraine should receive an official invitation to join NATO “right now”.

Receiving an invitation to join NATO "right now" is at the top of the five points from his ‘Victory Plan’, which he presented to EU leaders the same day.

He said he would give an example of a conversation he had on this issue.

“I talked to Trump about NATO. There are different signals in the media about his attitude. I gave him the example of the Budapest memorandum,” he said.

Under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, Ukraine surrendered its numerous Soviet-era nuclear weapons in exchange for guarantees from Russia, the US, the UK, France, and China to respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.

But as we all know, none of the Western powers came to the defence of Ukraine when Russia launched its full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022.

"Which country gave up its nuclear weapons? All of them? Only Ukraine. Who is fighting today? Only Ukraine. That is a fact. In my conversation with Donald Trump, I said to him, 'What is the way out?' Either Ukraine will have again nuclear weapons - and then it will be a certain protection for us - or we must have some alliance. Apart from NATO, we do not know any effective alliances today," said Zelenskyy.

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As Moldova faces a decisive presidential election and an EU referendum on Sunday (20 October) on whether to anchor accession as a constitutional goal, concerns over Russian interference remain high.

The letter drafted by French and German interior ministers asking the Commission to seek a negotiating mandate for a future EU-UK migration deal was never sent, France’s interior ministry confirmed late on Thursday (17 October) to Euractiv.

EU policymakers should consider the adverse effects of reducing trade links with China and not overdo it, the chair of the influential Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) said at the research centre's geoeconomics conference in Berlin on Thursday (17 October).

The EU's new defence commissioner-designate, Andrius Kubilius, told Euractiv he has an ambitious mission to boost Europe's military capabilities by filling stocks and building major defence capability projects.

An expert group will next week discuss a Commission draft, seen by Euractiv, outlining key elements of the forthcoming EU-wide certification schemes to reward growers for the carbon stored in soils, with biodiversity protection likely to spark opposition.

Look out for

• The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU is organising in Budapest, Hungary a conference on “EU Cyber ​​Commanders Conference.”
• The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU is organising in Budapest, Hungary, till 22 October a conference on European Competition Day.
• The Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the EU and the Public Procurement Authority is organising in Budapest, Hungary, a conference on Public Procurement. 
• European Agency for Safety and Health at Work is organising several events across the EU up to the 25 October titled “European Week for Safety and Health at Work.”
• CEPS is organising a presentation in Brussels, Belgium, a presentation on the European Council, October 2024: Debriefing.
• EPC is organising in Brussels, Belgium a conference titled "The October Summit: EUrope's Zeitenwende discontinued?"
• EPC is organising in Brussels, Belgium, an online conference “EPC Elections Monitor - Key takeaways & implications for Moldova - EU relations.” 
• EPC is organising in Brussels, Belgium a hybrid conference on “Stolen futures: The fight to return Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia.”
• EU ministers meet for an agriculture and fisheries council, on 21-22 October 2024, in Luxembourg.
• EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is in Naples, Italy, for the G7 Ministerial on Defence.
• European Commissioner Iliana Ivanova is in Athens, Greece, where she will meet Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
• The European Parliament will have its second plenary session for October in Strasbourg, France.
• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will meet Manfred Weber, Iratxe García-Pérez and Valérie Hayer, Chairs of the European People’s Party Group, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats and the Renew Europe Groups in the European Parliament.

[Edited by Rajnish Singh]