A group of NATO members led by the US and Germany are reluctant to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the military bloc anytime soon, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing sources.
Last week, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky presented his ‘victory plan’, which included a demand for immediate NATO membership. However, four unnamed US and NATO officials have reportedly told Politico that Berlin and Washington are “slow-walking” the request, adding that “key alliance members are worried about getting ensnared in a war with Russia.”
US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith told Politico that the bloc “has not, to date, reached the point where it is prepared to offer membership or an invitation to Ukraine.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz earlier said that it was his duty to prevent the Ukraine conflict from spiraling into a full-scale war between Russia and NATO, adding that Kiev would become a part of the bloc only when certain conditions are met.
Hungary and Slovakia – which have been critical of the Western approach to the Ukraine conflict and have insisted on an immediate ceasefire – are two other holdouts. Politico described their leaders as following “a generally pro-Kremlin line.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called Zelensky’s plan outright “terrifying,” while his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico warned that Ukraine’s accession to NATO could lead to World War III.
Furthermore, one NATO official told Politico that “countries like Belgium, Slovenia or Spain are hiding behind the US and Germany” when it comes to the issue of Ukraine’s membership, describing them as “reluctant.” Another source noted that while those nations support Kiev’s NATO aspirations “in the abstract,” they would voice their opposition when push comes to shove.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Kiev’s desire to join NATO – which Moscow has described as an existential threat and an “enemy” – was one of the key reasons for the current conflict in the first place.
Officials in Moscow have also said that Ukraine’s membership in the bloc “in any territorial form is absolutely unacceptable to Russia and cannot be part of any peace plans or mediation initiatives.”