Zelenskyy to call Biden soon to discuss Ukraine's invitation to NATO
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to call Joe Biden in the near future to discuss Ukraine's invitation to NATO, Ukrinform reports.
As Zelenskyy explains, it is currently difficult to discuss Ukraine's invitation to NATO with the 47th President of the United States, Donald Trump, because he is not yet in the White House and does not have the appropriate legal rights.
“By the way, I am planning to call President Biden soon, if he is available, and raise the issue of the invitation to NATO, as his position is crucial given that he is the current U.S. president,” Zelenskyy says.
He also notes that Kyiv may consider French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal to send some foreign troops to Ukraine until the country becomes a NATO member.
“But before that, we must have a clear understanding of when Ukraine will join the EU and when it will become part of NATO,” the President says.
Ukraine's accession to NATO
Ukraine's accession to NATO remains a strategic goal of the country, but the full-scale war with Russia complicates this process. In 2023, during the Vilnius Summit, the Alliance reaffirmed its support for Ukraine and announced that it would lift the Membership Action Plan (MAP) requirement as a precondition for accession. At the same time, no clear timetable or deadline for accession has been set.
During the war, Ukraine has been receiving significant support from NATO member states, including weapons, military training, and intelligence.
As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine recently noted, Kyiv rejects any alternative to joining NATO after the Budapest Memorandum. The latter was a bitter experience for Ukraine.
Earlier, Bloomberg wrote that the Biden administration considered publicly calling for an official invitation to Ukraine. But it decided not to because of the low probability of success.