Ukraine's NATO Aspirations Meet Resistance Among Western Bloc Members: Zelenskyy Voices Discontent

Ukraine’s potential NATO membership continues to encounter resistance among the 31 members of the Western accord, even after Sweden received the official go-ahead to join the bloc.

While Eastern European NATO members have shown support for the rapid approval of Ukraine’s membership, powerhouses such as the United States and Germany have demonstrated more caution.

Their wariness stems from apprehensions that such a move could inadvertently pull NATO into a direct confrontation with Russia.

Biden Still Hesitant Regarding Ukraine’s NATO Membership

In a recent interview with CNN, ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius, President Joe Biden highlighted that the war-stricken Ukraine is not yet ripe for NATO membership.

"I don't think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war," Biden said.

He emphasized that admitting Ukraine while it is embroiled in warfare could potentially plunge the entire alliance into conflict with Russia, a scenario that would necessitate defending every inch of NATO territory, as pledged in the Article 5 common defense treaty.

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Biden stated that he had extensive discussions with Zelensky on this subject, assuring the Ukrainian president that the U.S. would continue its security and weaponry aid for Ukraine, while the NATO induction process is underway. He stressed the importance of sketching a “rational path” for Ukraine to meet the qualifications for NATO membership.

Diplomats have hinted that the summit’s concluding agreement could subtly open the door for Kyiv to join the alliance. The language, however, remains non-committal, stating that NATO may be prepared to “extend an invitation” to Ukraine to join “when allies agree and conditions are met”.

Zelensky Criticizes NATO’s Ambiguity

On Twitter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has strongly rebuked the alliance for its “unprecedented and absurd” vagueness concerning the timeline for Ukraine’s membership. Zelenskyy has persistently maintained that NATO membership serves as the most effective deterrent to Russian aggression. However, he voiced his frustrations with the alliance’s vague stipulations about “conditions” being needed for simply inviting Ukraine.

Zelenskyy voiced concern over the perceived lack of preparedness within the alliance to either extend an invitation to Ukraine or integrate it as a member. This, he believes, could leave room for bargaining over Ukraine’s NATO membership in future negotiations with Russia. He argued that this uncertainty could further embolden Russia to persist in its destabilizing activities.

Emphasizing the detrimental impact of uncertainty, Zelensky stated, “Uncertainty is weakness,” and pledged to openly address these concerns at the summit.

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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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