US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has expressed confidence that Ukraine will be accepted into NATO once Russia’s war of aggression is over. “I have no doubt that will happen,” Austin said in an interview with CNN that aired Thursday.
Until then, however, there are “some things that need to be done,” such as judicial reform, Austin says. It must be ensured that “democracy is in good working order”.
G7 promised long-term help
Austin did not specify a time period before the country would join the Western Defense Alliance. Earlier at the NATO summit in Lithuania, the G7 group of Western economic powers pledged long-term military and financial aid to Ukraine while the country is not yet a member. The United States, Germany and the five other G7 countries also promised modern equipment for their air and naval forces. However, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hopes for an invitation to NATO were not fulfilled at the summit.
Putin has already lost the war
US President Joe Biden said in Finland on Thursday that he already sees Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin as the loser in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. “Putin has already lost the war. Putin has a real problem,” the 80-year-old said at a press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Helsinki. The Russian president can end the war tomorrow. “But there is no way he will win the war in Ukraine,” he said.
Regarding the prospects for Ukraine’s NATO membership, Biden stressed that there was no doubt about whether the country should join the alliance or not. “It’s about when they can join. And they will join NATO,” Biden said. He reiterated that no country can join NATO if it is under attack. At this week’s summit, NATO dashed hopes of early accession. Although the alliance in Vilnius gave the country hope of admission, a formal invitation was subject to conditions.
Russia plans to extend the grain deal
Putin himself commented on a possible extension of the grain agreement with Ukraine on Thursday. “We are thinking about how to proceed, there are still a few days to go,” Putin said in an interview with state television, which pro-Kremlin correspondent Pavel Sarubin published on his Telegram channel on Thursday. There is a possibility to suspend Russia’s participation in the agreement until the promises made to Moscow under the agreement are actually fulfilled.
Source: Krone
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