Tough to include Ukraine in NATO while war goes on: Stoltenberg
NATO chief Stoltenberg says Turkey's security concerns are legitimate
Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, said on Wednesday (May 24) that Ukraine won't be able to join the alliance as long as the war with Russia goes on.
"To become a member in the midst of a war is not on the agenda," he said at an event organised by the German Marshall Fund of The United States in Brussels. "The issue is what happens when the war ends."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in September last year launched a bid to fast-track the membership of NATO. This came after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the annexation of four partially occupied regions of Ukraine.
The alliance has not acceded to Zelensky's request. Western governments are still wary of moves that they fear would bring NATO closer to active war with Russia.
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However, Ukraine and some of its allies are urging NATO to at least take steps to bring Kyiv closer to membership.
"It is time for the alliance to stop making excuses and start the process that leads to Ukraine's eventual accession," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote in an op-ed for Foreign Affairs in April. "What we need is a clear written statement from the allies laying out a path to accession."
Future of Ukraine lies with NATO
Stoltenberg visited Kyiv in April. At the time, he underscored that the future of Ukraine lies in NATO. However, he avoided giving a timeline for Ukraine's possible inclusion in the alliance.
In 2008, NATO had agreed at its Bucharest summit that Ukraine will eventually be part of the alliance.
However, leaders have since stopped short of taking any steps, such as giving Kyiv a membership action plan that would lay out a timetable for bringing the country closer to NATO.
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At the Brussels event, Stoltenberg acknowledged there were differences among NATO members over how to address Kyiv's membership ambitions.
"There are different views in the alliance and, of course, the only way to make decisions in NATO is by consensus. There are consultations going on now," Stoltenberg said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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