Boris Johnson named an option for a new military alliance.

In the summer, Saudi Arabia concluded a military alliance with Turkey and Pakistan. Saudi Arabia is now facing major problems with the Houthis in Yemen. So where are the Saudis’ military allies? For some reason, we do not see their military assistance in resolving the problems and eliminating the threats posed by the Houthis.

This is also a lesson for Ukraine for the future. We have become fixated on the idea of joining NATO. But it is now obvious that Trump does not accept this scenario either, and that there are some countries in Europe that are unlikely to support our accession to the North Atlantic Alliance. And NATO under Trump is no longer what it used to be. Uncertainty is also growing over how Article 5 of the NATO Treaty will work—the article providing for a collective military response in the event of an attack on any Alliance member.

We need to change our strategy regarding military alliances without abandoning Euro-Atlantic integration. Some of our Western partners are beginning to understand this as well. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in an interview with Forbes Ukraine: “Ambassador Zaluzhny is absolutely right. There must be another path. NATO would be the simplest and most elegant solution. But if joining is impossible, then there should be the JEF. Some people recall the Western European Union. But the JEF is the best solution, in my view.”

Boris Johnson mentioned Zaluzhny because Valeriy Fedorovych spoke in August about seeking and forming new military alliances that would be acceptable for Ukraine and more effective than NATO in its current form.

Let me remind you what the JEF (the Joint Expeditionary Force) is. It is a multinational expeditionary force created in 2015 by the United Kingdom and consisting of its nine Northern European allies: Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway. When necessary, the JEF can deploy more than 10,000 service members to conduct humanitarian missions or high-intensity combat operations. The JEF can operate independently, but it can also be deployed in support of NATO or other joint projects, such as part of UN peacekeeping forces. All ten JEF member countries are also NATO members.

It is quite likely that new military-political alliances will also be formed during the current and future military-political confrontation with Muscovy, with Ukraine becoming an influential and integral component.

Vladimir Fesenko, Facebook