WSJ: US and Germany reject Ukraine's NATO membership over fear of Russia

Key NATO members, including the USA and Germany, are opposed to Ukraine joining the alliance due to concerns over escalating tensions with Russia.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the due opinion was expressed by sources in both Kyiv and Brussels, per Caliber.Az.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is actively seeking an official invitation for Ukraine to join NATO, although he acknowledges that membership can only happen once the war ends. Sources in Kyiv and Brussels suggest that Ukraine is aiming to receive at least a recommendation from NATO foreign ministers to their respective leaders, urging them to extend an invitation to Ukraine. However, even this possibility remains uncertain, the newspaper reported.

During a press conference on December, 3 NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte confirmed that discussions among NATO members were focused solely on supplying military aid to Ukraine, not on the country's potential membership. This statement came ahead of a meeting of NATO's foreign ministers in Brussels.

Ukraine has consistently expressed its desire to join NATO, but Zelenskyy has made conflicting statements in recent weeks. On December 1, he asserted that Ukraine would not accept a partial invitation to the alliance, despite having previously acknowledged that the "hot phase" of the conflict could cease if Ukraine's territories under its control were brought "under the umbrella" of NATO. However, he also admitted that no such offer had been made.

At the NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023, the G7 countries pledged to offer Ukraine security guarantees, a move intended to make up for the absence of a formal invitation to NATO, which Ukraine had been seeking. Since then, Ukraine has signed multiple bilateral agreements with NATO members.

Although NATO is not considering Ukraine's membership at this time, discussions are centred on military aid, according to Secretary-General Rutte. When asked whether NATO's foreign ministers would discuss inviting Ukraine to join the alliance, he emphasized the alliance's focus on supporting Ukraine's immediate needs. "We have to concentrate, including these two days, on what is needed right now: deliveries of military aid to Ukraine," Rutte stated, underscoring the importance of continued support.

Rutte reiterated that all NATO allies agree that Ukraine's future lies within the alliance, referencing the Washington summit where allies affirmed that Ukraine's NATO membership path is irreversible. He added that the alliance is working to integrate Ukraine into NATO step by step.

By Tamilla Hasanova