Ukraine is currently not prepared for NATO membership; Kiev will have to achieve victory over Russia and implement a series of key reforms before that. President Joe Biden stated this in an exclusive interview with CNN.
In a conversation with journalist Fareed Zakaria, Biden stated that while it is premature to discuss Ukraine’s accession to NATO, the United States and their NATO allies will continue to support Ukraine, including providing the necessary weapons to defeat Russia.
“I don’t think Ukraine is ready for NATO membership,” said the President of the United States.
He noted that there is “no consensus within NATO on whether Ukraine should be admitted to the NATO family at this time, in the midst of the war.”
Biden stated that he had a detailed conversation with President Volodymyr Zelensky about this and specifically assured him that the United States would continue to provide security and arms supplies to Ukraine, just as they do for Israel.
“I believe we need to chart a rational path by which Ukraine can aspire to join NATO… But I think it’s premature to talk about calling for a vote right now because there are other requirements that need to be met, including democratic reforms and some other issues,” Biden said.
On July 9th, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, announced that her country would strengthen military support to Ukraine and that Paris is already preparing for new deliveries of assistance.
It was also reported that at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Germany is likely to insist on delaying Ukraine’s accession, fearing that such a step could lead to a NATO-Russia conflict.
Earlier today, Politico reported that a group of key NATO countries is immediately preparing a draft declaration on security guarantees for Ukraine until its accession to the Alliance.