Finland's leader: Ukraine’s NATO membership inevitable, but not soon

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said on June 25 that while Ukraine’s bid to join NATO faces short-term obstacles, particularly opposition from the United States, the path to membership remains open in the long term.

“We are working at it in the long term,” Stubb told CNBC in remarks on Ukraine’s NATO aspirations, Caliber.Az reports.

“It is realistic to say that if one of the key member states of the alliance, in other words, the United States, is against Ukraine’s NATO membership at this particular moment, then it won’t happen in the short term, or however you define it, medium term," he stated. 

Stubb underscored that Ukraine’s sovereignty and right to determine its alliances must be respected, framing both EU and NATO membership as integral to Kyiv’s future.

He reminded that in the the beginning of the war, Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed to annul Ukrainian independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

"For me, sovereignty is about the right to choose and in my mind it happens with two choices. One is a choice of EU membership, which will happen. And eventually also NATO membership for Ukraine because it is  the strongest military alliance in the world,” he added. 

Ukraine submitted its NATO membership application in September 2022, months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. While the alliance has consistently stated that Ukraine will eventually become a member, no formal invitation has been issued. US President Donald Trump has argued that Ukraine’s NATO ambitions provoked the war — a claim often stated by Russian officials.

By Sabina Mammadli