Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteMoss
Ukraine would be similar to Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia joining in 2004. All former Soviet states and all on the Russia border.
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There are pretty significant differences though. In 2004 the Baltic states:
-were 55th-65th in GDP per capita
-were in the 35th-50th range in corruption indexes
-had relatively stable democratic institutions without much internal strife
By comparison, Ukraine:
-is 131st in GDP per capita
-is 122nd in the corruption index (barely above Russia)
-has had multiple revolutions in the last 20 years and was engaged in a civil war with Russian-backed separatists for 8 years.
With Article 5 and its requirements, NATO members need to consider the stability of the countries they admit, particularly when they border Russia. So while a place like Bulgaria might also seem a bit suspect to admit, they're essentially surrounded by NATO members already so there's less chance of them dragging NATO into a war if things go awry.