NATO countries want Biden to accelerate Ukraine’s NATO membership – NYT
A debate has erupted among NATO member countries, which are pressuring U.S. President Joe Biden to support a faster and more reliable plan to put Ukraineon the path to NATO membership, reports The New York Times.
Many allies, including those bordering Russia, are keen to demonstrate their support for Ukraine’s NATO membership ahead of July’s NATO Summit in Vilnius.
Biden administration officials say some countries want to set a timeline and specific goal for true membership “but only after the war stops raging.” All options for Ukraine’s NATO membership involve significant cost.
Only Germany fully supports Biden.
Biden is cautious about this issue because he does not want to involve NATO in a direct conflict with Russia. He will avoid any actions that could lead to a split in NATO or lead to World War III, writes The New York Times.
Several high-ranking American officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have taken the position that the Biden administration should provide a more concrete path for Ukraine’s NATO membership, even if a date is not set, the newspaper said.
Polish President Andrzej Duda called for Ukraine to join NATO. At the same time, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron are in favor of discussing security guarantees.
The newly elected Latvian President, Edgars Rinkevichs, said that the main obstacle on Ukraine’s path to NATO is not Hungary or Russia’s unspoken “veto” but rather the internal discussion of the Allicance.
Five weeks before the summit, Ukraine’s Western allies have not yet reached a unified position regarding the security guarantees Ukraine seeks, reported Politico on June 8.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he does not see the point of participating in the NATO Summit in Vilnius if Ukraine does not receive a clear signal about its membership.
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