White House: NATO is discussing inviting Ukraine, but there is no consensus yet

Discussions are currently ongoing among NATO countries on the issue of inviting Ukraine to the Alliance.

This was stated by a high-ranking representative of the US President Joe Bidenʼs administration at a briefing, the White House press service reports.

"There is a discussion among NATO members about the invitation. Currently, there is no consensus on whether to offer Ukraine an invitation," he said.

At the same time, he reminded that at the NATO summit in July, all 32 members of the Alliance confirmed that Ukraine is on an irreversible path to NATO membership.

"So the question is the tactics of how to encourage this path and how to reach a consensus on the next steps," the official emphasized.

He assured that there is now an "active conversation" regarding various elements of the victory plan outlined by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"There are certain elements that we are currently carrying out in terms of providing additional military capabilities, which is also an element of the plan," he emphasized.

The American official noted that the position of the United States and Biden, in particular, is to "put Ukraine in a position of strength."

"We want her to win this war. And we have to give her the opportunities she needs to do that. But we cannot do it alone. We must do this together with our partners and allies, which is why President Biden called for the “Ramstein” summit," the White House representative added.

According to him, the meeting in the “Ramstein” format will most likely take place in November.

Ukraineʼs entry into NATO

On September 30, 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky, the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, and the 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.

On October 16, Zelensky publicly presented a victory plan, the first point of which foresees Ukraine joining NATO even before the end of the war.

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