International Nato gives Ukraine no hope of a quick invitation

The new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has reacted cautiously to Ukraine's desire for a quick invitation to join the Western military alliance. At a press conference in Brussels, Rutte referred to the resolutions of the most recent NATO summit in Washington.

At this summit, supporters of a quick invitation were unable to prevail against opponents such as the USA and Germany. The alliance states were only able to agree to give Ukraine a general assurance that it could no longer be stopped on its way into the defense alliance.

At the same time, the summit declaration once again explicitly emphasized that a formal invitation to join could only be issued once all allies had agreed and all admission conditions had been met. These include reforms in the areas of democracy, the economy and the security sector. Opponents of a NATO invitation to Ukraine also fear that such a step could lead to a further escalation of the war in Ukraine.

At the media conference in Brussels, Rutte said in general terms that he was in close contact with the allies and Ukraine to see how the next steps towards accession could be taken. He also emphasized that Russia and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin had no say or veto in the discussion.

"Ultimately, the most important thing we need to achieve is that Ukraine is in the best possible position when the Ukrainian government one day decides to start talks to end this war," Rutte added. "It must be in a very strong position when that moment comes."

Selensky had recently presented his five-point "victory plan" for ending the war with Russia in Kiev. Central to this is a quick invitation to join the Western military alliance NATO.

SDA