At the upcoming Alliance summit in Washington, NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said, there will be “no dates” regarding Ukraine’s membership.
“I expect that we will reach an agreement on the wording, which will send a clear message about Ukraine’s membership prospects and that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance,” he said.
He noted the interdependence between the war and Ukraine’s accession to NATO: “It is difficult to invite Ukraine while the war is going on. On the other hand, it is also difficult to say that we cannot do this during war with the Russian Federation because then the Russian Federation will have an incentive to continue the conflict. We will bring Ukraine closer to the Alliance, helping it meet all NATO standards, and then we will decide when the time comes.”
According to Stoltenberg, if Ukraine is prepared now, it will be able to join NATO quickly when all member countries agree.
John Kirby, coordinator of the US National Security Council for strategic communications, said: “Both the Alliance and the US stated that the Ukrainians should win this war first.”