Rutte says Ukraine will join NATO, but not as part of peace deal with Russia
Photo: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (Getty Images)
After the ministerial meeting of NATO, Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters that despite all political statements, the decision to join the Alliance as part of the truce talks with Russia remains unchanged.
“We decided in Washington that the path of Ukraine into NATO is irreversible. We are building the bridge by everything we're doing with Ukraine, getting Ukraine as interoperable as possible with NATO. But it was never promised to Ukraine that NATO membership would be part of a peace deal. I mean, that is also true,” he said.
Ukraine and NATO
Ukraine hoped to receive an official invitation to join NATO at the July 2024 summit in Washington, but this did not happen.
US President Donald Trump said that he considered Ukraine's membership in NATO unlikely or impractical. Later, Trump said that Ukraine should forget about joining NATO.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called Ukraine's membership in NATO unrealistic as a guarantee for ending the war.
As President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, if Ukraine is not in NATO, then the Alliance should be on Ukrainian territory. An alternative to Ukraine's accession to NATO is the deployment of NATO troops on Ukrainian territory. Also, the country should have an army that is similar in size to Russia's.
