FT: Biden may raise the status of Ukraineʼs bid for NATO membership

The US President Joe Biden may agree to upgrade the status of Ukraineʼs bid for NATO membership before he leaves office in January.

The Financial Times (FT) journalists were informed about this by a Western official who was informed about the negotiations of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington.

The media notes that during his possibly last trip to Europe before stepping down as president, Biden will preside over a meeting of Ukraine and its allies in Germany on October 12.

"A Western official briefed on Zelenskyʼs talks in Washington said there are early signs that Biden may agree to upgrade Ukraineʼs bid for NATO membership before he leaves office in January," writes the FT.

The publication emphasizes that NATO membership remains a key goal of Ukraine, but very few of the 32 members of the Alliance believe that this is possible without a full, long-term cease-fire and a clear line on the map that would determine to which part of the territory of Ukraine the Allianceʼs provisions on mutual defense.

Some propose a model of West Germanyʼs membership in the Alliance, which lasted more than three decades before the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification with the east of the country.

"The West German model is gaining momentum, especially in the White House, which has been the most skeptical about NATO membership. The Russians wonʼt like it, but at least it can be some kind of initial gambit for a compromise," said the head of the Washington office of the European Council on Foreign Relations Jeremy Shapiro.

But even that would require the deployment of significant forces by the US and its partners, something that any US administration, Democratic or Republican, is unlikely to agree to.

• On September 30, 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal signed an application for Ukraineʼs accession to NATO under the accelerated procedure, which provides for accession to the Alliance without a Membership Action Plan (MAP).
• On July 11, 2023, at the NATO summit, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine will receive an invitation to NATO when all allies agree and the conditions are met. First of all, these are the fight against corruption, reforms to modernize public administration institutions (including the security and defense sector), compatibility with NATO standards, and the end of the war. Following the results of the NATO summit in Vilnius, the member states adopted a three-part package to bring Ukraine closer to the Alliance. The MAP for Ukraine was canceled, but Kyiv did not receive a full invitation.
• Instead, the countries of the "Big Seven" and the countries of Northern Europe agreed on security guarantees for Ukraine on the way to NATO.
• Currently, Ukraine is implementing NATO standards, adapting the troops to them, in particular the management, and also carrying out the necessary reforms.

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