Ukraine's NATO bid 'impossible' during war, EU membership years away - Poland's Nawrocki

Nawrocki said that today, Ukraine does not have the possibility to join NATO. He explained that Ukraine is in a state of war, and its membership would automatically cause all NATO member countries to enter the war. Therefore, he added, there is no point in reconsidering this issue.

He also opposed Ukraine's unconditional accession to the European Union. He referred to the need to justify "certain expectations."

The newly elected President of Poland added that he was against Ukraine's unconditional accession to the European Union. He noted that many countries, including Poland, had waited for years to meet the European Union's expectations and become part of it.

At the same time, Nawrocki is confident that it is in the interest of Poland and Europe as a whole for Ukraine to be part of the Western world.

He concluded that this did not necessarily have to be linked to joining NATO, which he called impossible, or the European Union, which he described as a very distant prospect.

Nawrocki's position on Ukraine joining NATO

At the end of May, ahead of the second round of the presidential elections, Nawrocki officially accepted the demands of the leader of the anti-Ukraine Confederation party, Sławomir Mentzen, in exchange for his support. One of these demands was a promise not to allow Ukraine into NATO.

RBC-Ukraine also reported that after his election victory, Nawrocki said he expects to continue a close partnership with Ukraine.

"I am looking forward to continuing the partnership of our countries, based on mutual respect and understanding. I believe it requires not only good dialogue but also solving overdue historical issues," he wrote on the social network X in response to greetings from Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

For a similar analysis of why Nawrocki's victory could be a problem for Ukraine, read RBC-Ukraine's report.