Some in NATO Ask Zelensky Not to Demand Timeline for Ukraine’s Membership

The United States and Germany are urging President Volodymyr Zelensky not to demand the “impossible” – a clear timeframe for Ukraine’s acceptance into NATO at the Alliance’s summit, the British newspaper The Telegraph reported on May 28, citing its own sources.

At the NATO summit in Washington, which will be held from July 9 to 11, Ukraine will not be offered anything that would allow the country to move forward on the path to membership because of fears that the alliance could be drawn into a war with Russia.

“They’re very skeptical about bringing Ukraine any further along the path to full NATO membership this year,” a source familiar with the Biden administration’s thinking told The Telegraph.

However, according to the newspaper’s sources, before the NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023, countries that support Ukraine’s accession to the alliance put strong pressure on other members on this issue, which led to a split in the military bloc.

The Telegraph writes that at the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., alliance leaders will offer Ukraine what is now being called a “bridge” or “path” to membership to demonstrate support for the process.

The support package being discussed now will emphasize “Ukraine’s ability to choose its own future” and demonstrate that the “path to membership is getting shorter” the two diplomats said.

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Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Kyiv’s accession to the Alliance would threaten Moscow and not increase Ukraine’s security, as it would create “additional tension in the international arena.”

Zelensky announced that Ukraine’s application for NATO membership would be submitted on an accelerated basis on Sept. 30, 2022. At the alliance’s summit in Vilnius in July 2023, members of the bloc agreed to simplify Ukraine’s accession path.

In 2023, Finland and Sweden, which had previously maintained neutral status, joined NATO. Both applied in May 2022 against a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Putin was surprised that “Finland was dragged into NATO” as they had the most “heartfelt, warmest relationship.” He genuinely doesn’t see the reason. “Nonsense,” he says.

NATO is currently deliberating the possibility of securing the airspace over Western Ukraine and training Kyiv’s troops on their own soil, according to sources from BILD.

Several member countries, including Estonia, the UK, Poland, Canada, Lithuania, and France, are advocating for increased support for Kyiv, potentially extending into Ukrainian territory.