Ukraine probably cannot hope to receive an invitation to join NATO anytime soon. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said military support was “more important” than the debate over when NATO membership should be offered to Ukraine.
Ukraine, which was under attack by Russia, had previously made clear that it would accept no security guarantees other than NATO membership. Russia would see Ukraine’s NATO membership as a threat.
Rutte wants more weapons for Ukraine
Rutte emphasized that the alliance is working to build a bridge to membership for Ukraine. The most pressing problem, however, is to supply Kiev with more weapons to repel Russian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky should be able to conduct peace talks from “a position of strength.” “That is now my first priority,” said Rutte. According to insiders, there are no signs of the necessary consensus among NATO’s 32 members for Ukraine to become a member.
Rutte: Putin has no interest in peace
Rutte emphasized that NATO allies must increase their military support to Ukraine. “We will all have to do more. The stronger our military support for Ukraine now, the stronger its position at the negotiating table will be,” Rutte told reporters at NATO headquarters.
Russian President Vladimir “Putin is not interested in peace,” the NATO chief added. “He continues the advance and tries to conquer more areas. He believes he can break Ukraine’s resolve and our will, but he is wrong,” Rutte emphasizes. The new Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha is expected in Brussels for the first time on Tuesday for talks with his colleagues from NATO countries.
Kiev recalls in the Budapest memorandum
On the day of the NATO meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kiev recalled the bad experiences with the almost thirty-year-old Budapest Memorandum. “We are convinced that the only real security guarantee for Ukraine and a deterrent to further Russian aggression against Ukraine and other states is full Ukrainian NATO membership,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry statement said. “Based on the bitter experience with the Budapest Memorandum, we will accept no alternatives, no imitation and no substitute for full NATO membership for Ukraine.”
In 1994, Ukraine surrendered Soviet nuclear weapons on its territory; In return, the nuclear powers US, Russia and Britain promised her non-binding security. Moscow broke the agreement with the 2014 attack on Ukraine and the 2022 large-scale invasion, the Foreign Ministry in Kiev said.
Kremlin sees NATO membership as ‘threat’
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, on the other hand, emphasized that NATO membership for Ukraine “absolutely contradicts our idea of indivisible security.” “Therefore, such a decision would be potentially unacceptable to us, because it would pose a threat to us. Kiev’s possible inclusion in the Western defense alliance was one of the reasons for the war for Moscow, the spokesman for the Russian presidential office in Moscow explained.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had called for an invitation to join the alliance to secure Kiev-controlled parts of the country against Russia. Kiev is also pushing its allies to provide defense systems against Russia’s new hypersonic weapon Oreshnik.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
