October 17, 2024
NATO shows no sign of accepting Ukrainian membership bid anytime soon
Following comments Wednesday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that NATO finalizing an invitation to join would be “fundamental” to victory, the alliance declined to comment on the status of Ukraine’s bid.
Zelenskyy made the remarks as he unveiled a “victory plan” to Ukraine’s Parliament.
The Ukrainian leader seemed to acknowledge, however, that little has progressed since NATO promised over the summer that Ukraine was on an “irreversible” path to membership.
“We understand that NATO membership is a matter of the future, not the present,” he said.
NATO chief Mark Rutte said the focus now must be to help Ukraine to win back more territory and strengthen its position for any future peace negotiations.
“We are in close contact with allies, with Ukraine, to see how we can take next steps,” Rutte told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Zelenskyy is due to attend a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday. The main topic under discussion is set to be military aid to Kyiv.
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine grinds on as a war of attrition, with Russian forces making incremental gains in the east, Kyiv is working to shore up Western support and has asked for more air defense systems, as well as permission to use longer-range missile systems to attack targets inside Russia.
The upcoming US presidential election in November could also bring a major shift in US support for Kyiv.
“For decades, Russia has exploited the geopolitical uncertainty in Europe, particularly the fact that Ukraine is not a NATO member,” Zelenskyy said. “This has tempted Russia to encroach upon our security.”
At the NATO summit in July, the alliance’s 32 members had declared that Ukraine was on a “irreversible” path to membership. However, any move toward starting membership talks is unlikely before the next summit, hosted by the Netherlands and set for June.
