NATO leader talks about Ukraine’s fast track in alliance: membership ‘must be taken by consensus’

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday refused to commit to whether Ukraine’s application to join the alliance would be expedited, saying its bid to join “must be taken unanimously”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced last week That his country will submit an urgent application to join NATO.

While appearing on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” moderator Chuck Todd asked NATO chief if the alliance would speed up Ukraine’s bid. About the alliance’s open door policy to allow countries to join the alliance.

“NATO has an open door policy and every country, including Ukraine of course, has the right to choose its own path, including what kind of security arrangements they want to be part of,” Stoltenberg told Todd. Meanwhile, any decision on membership must be taken by consensus. All 30 allies have to agree to make such a decision.”

Stoltenberg said the main focus of the coalition is to continue to support Ukraine in the fight against Russia.

“They need more support. They need continuous support,” Stoltenberg said. And that is the message I conveyed to President Zelensky when I spoke to him a few days ago. And that is the message from NATO leaders and again, not least from the United States. , which makes a difference and really matters when we see the war going on in Ukraine.”

NATO moved quickly to accept Finland and Sweden into the alliance earlier this year after they made requests amid fears of Russian aggression.

Ukraine made a push to join NATO early in its war with Russia, but Zelensky admitted in March that its accession was unlikely. The Ukrainian president’s latest appeal comes after a series of military victories that allowed Kiev to regain lands previously occupied by Russia.

In his presidential statement on Friday, Zelensky said Ukraine and NATO had been “de facto” allies throughout the war.

We are de facto allies. This has already been achieved. De facto, we have already completed our path to NATO. In fact, we have already demonstrated interoperability with Alliance standards, it is real for Ukraine – real on the battlefield and in all aspects of our interaction,” Zelensky said in his statement.

“We trust each other, help each other and protect each other. This is the alliance. De facto.”

Zelensky’s comments came after Russian President Vladimir Putin formally moved on Friday to annex regions of eastern Ukraine, in an illegal move condemned by Kyiv and its allies.