US outlines prerequisites for Ukraine's NATO membership
According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ukraine needs to advance its military reforms and enhance its democratic institutions in order to gain NATO membership. Read Full Article at RT.com.
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Washington has consistently maintained that Kiev will eventually join NATO, though it has never specified a clear timeline for this process.
According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ukraine's prospects of joining the alliance depend on its military reforms and the enhancement of its democratic institutions. In remarks made at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Blinken dismissed the notion that the US, Germany, or other NATO allies are obstructing Ukraine's accession to the alliance. Ukraine has desired full NATO membership for years and formally submitted its application in autumn 2022 after four of its former regions voted heavily in favor of joining Russia.
Blinken emphasized that NATO has “put Ukraine on a path to NATO membership” and has implemented tangible measures to further this aim, although he did not clarify the timeline for accession. “We set up for the first time in NATO’s history a dedicated command whose purpose is to help Ukraine along that path, to take the practical steps that it needs to take – in continuing to build and reform its military institutions, to continue to strengthen its democracy – that are necessary for membership,” he stated.
He acknowledged that it would be “very challenging for Russia” to accept a peace agreement regarding Ukraine that does not clearly eliminate the possibility of Kiev joining NATO. Nonetheless, he suggested that Ukraine could receive “other kinds of assurances, commitments, guarantees” akin to Article 5 of the NATO Charter, which asserts that an attack on one member is an attack on all.
In October, PMG reported that some NATO allies expressed dissatisfaction with President Vladimir Zelensky’s ‘victory plan', which seeks an immediate invitation for Ukraine to join the bloc. The article pointed out that the US and Germany were opposed to this request, fearing it could lead them into direct conflict with Russia.
Officially, NATO has stated that full membership for Ukraine will not be possible as long as it remains involved in the conflict with Russia. However, some Western officials have suggested a route to “partial membership” for Kiev, an option rejected by Zelensky, who argued that this would imply the country acknowledges its territorial losses to Russia.
Moscow has long opposed NATO's expansion towards its borders, viewing it as an existential threat. Russian President Vladimir Putin has asserted that Ukraine’s goal of joining NATO is a key factor in the ongoing conflict, with Ukrainian neutrality, along with demilitarization and denazification, being among Moscow’s primary objectives.
Aarav Patel for TROIB News
According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Ukraine's prospects of joining the alliance depend on its military reforms and the enhancement of its democratic institutions. In remarks made at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Blinken dismissed the notion that the US, Germany, or other NATO allies are obstructing Ukraine's accession to the alliance. Ukraine has desired full NATO membership for years and formally submitted its application in autumn 2022 after four of its former regions voted heavily in favor of joining Russia.
Blinken emphasized that NATO has “put Ukraine on a path to NATO membership” and has implemented tangible measures to further this aim, although he did not clarify the timeline for accession. “We set up for the first time in NATO’s history a dedicated command whose purpose is to help Ukraine along that path, to take the practical steps that it needs to take – in continuing to build and reform its military institutions, to continue to strengthen its democracy – that are necessary for membership,” he stated.
He acknowledged that it would be “very challenging for Russia” to accept a peace agreement regarding Ukraine that does not clearly eliminate the possibility of Kiev joining NATO. Nonetheless, he suggested that Ukraine could receive “other kinds of assurances, commitments, guarantees” akin to Article 5 of the NATO Charter, which asserts that an attack on one member is an attack on all.
In October, PMG reported that some NATO allies expressed dissatisfaction with President Vladimir Zelensky’s ‘victory plan', which seeks an immediate invitation for Ukraine to join the bloc. The article pointed out that the US and Germany were opposed to this request, fearing it could lead them into direct conflict with Russia.
Officially, NATO has stated that full membership for Ukraine will not be possible as long as it remains involved in the conflict with Russia. However, some Western officials have suggested a route to “partial membership” for Kiev, an option rejected by Zelensky, who argued that this would imply the country acknowledges its territorial losses to Russia.
Moscow has long opposed NATO's expansion towards its borders, viewing it as an existential threat. Russian President Vladimir Putin has asserted that Ukraine’s goal of joining NATO is a key factor in the ongoing conflict, with Ukrainian neutrality, along with demilitarization and denazification, being among Moscow’s primary objectives.
Aarav Patel for TROIB News
