“Despite the presented plan of victory. NATO does not plan to invite Ukraine to join the Alliance in the near future – US Ambassador to the Alliance October 16, 17:58 Share: Ukraine will not receive an invitation to join the Alliance in the near future (Photo: NATO) US Ambassador to NATO Julian Smith said that the Alliance does not plan to invite Ukraine to join in the near future, hromadske reports. According to the diplomat, NATO’s position regarding Ukraine’s future membership in the Alliance is “very clear”.”, — write on: ua.news
Ukraine will not receive an invitation to join the Alliance in the near future (Photo: NATO)
US Ambassador to NATO Julian Smith said that the Alliance does not plan to invite Ukraine to join in the near future, hromadske reports.
According to the diplomat, NATO’s position regarding Ukraine’s future membership in the Alliance is “very clear.”
“We stated this summer at the 75th anniversary NATO summit in Washington that Ukraine is on an irreversible path to membership and will become a member of the Alliance. Now we are not at the stage when the Alliance is discussing extending an invitation to Ukraine in the short term,” the ambassador said during a briefing before the start of the meeting of defense ministers of NATO countries in Brussels.
Smith also confirmed that NATO and Kyiv are working together to ensure that Ukraine continues its path to membership in the Alliance.
Earlier, the Ukrainian ambassador to NATO Nataliya Halibarenko said that Ukraine is asking through diplomatic channels for an invitation to the Alliance even before Joe Biden leaves the post of US president.
On October 16, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke in the Verkhovna Rada, where he presented the plan for the victory of Ukraine.
The first point of the plan is the invitation of Ukraine to NATO. The President also stated that the first point of the plan is geopolitical, the second and third are military, the fourth is economic, and the fifth is security. The first four points, according to Zelensky, must be implemented during the war, and the last – after its end.
Ukraine’s entry into NATO – what is known
On May 28, 2024, The Telegraph newspaper, citing its own unnamed sources, reported that Western partners urged Ukraine not to request an invitation to NATO at the Washington summit this year.
On July 10, 32 NATO countries approved the final declaration of the Alliance summit in Washington. Among other things, NATO countries pledged to allocate €40 billion in aid to Ukraine in 2025 and confirmed that Ukraine’s path to membership in the Alliance is irreversible. The declaration also states that the Alliance will be able to send Ukraine an invitation to join “when NATO members reach an agreement and conditions are met” in this regard.
NATO members also decided to create a new structure for security assistance and training for Ukraine (NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine — NSATU). It will coordinate the provision of military equipment and training for the Ukrainian military by the Alliance members and partners of Ukraine.
On July 17, the then Secretary General of the Alliance Stoltenberg appointed Patrick Turner as NATO’s special representative in Ukraine, whose task is to coordinate NATO’s interaction with the Ukrainian authorities, as well as “coordinate NATO’s efforts and provide the Alliance with assessments and advice on the situation in Ukraine.”
Head of the Office of the President, Andriy Yermak, during a speech at the Council on International Relations in New York on September 24, said that inviting Ukraine to NATO is part of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s victory plan.
On October 5, the Financial Times reported that analysts and officials in the West are discussing the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO without returning all the territories temporarily seized by Russia — comparing this option to ending the war with West Germany joining NATO without East Germany.