Kyiv’s attempt to join NATO during the Biden presidency

According to RCO News Agency, “Natalia Galibarenkov”, Ukraine’s ambassador to NATO, announced that Kiev wants to join NATO before Biden leaves the White House.

In an interview with “Reuters” News agency, he said: “We believe that the official invitation to Ukraine to join NATO is a political message that can be included in the legacy of the current American president.”

Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in his controversial “Victory Plan” had called for his country’s immediate accession to NATO. However, Russia has always stated its condition for stopping the current war is the non-membership of Ukraine in NATO and the country’s military neutrality.

However, according to Galibarenkov, Ukraine’s “quick” NATO membership could “impede Moscow’s progress” and even an official invitation to Ukraine “could send a clear message to Moscow.”

Ukrainian officials’ insistence on NATO membership comes as NATO has announced that Ukraine is on an “irreversible” path to joining, saying it will happen “when allies agree and conditions are met.” has stated.

NATO member states have always opposed Ukraine’s membership in NATO in the “current conditions” and have demanded an “end to the war” before Kyiv joins the alliance, because if Ukraine joins NATO and the war continues, the member states will be forced to directly start a war against Russia.

On the other hand, Slovakia and Hungary, two NATO member countries, have already announced that they will vote against Ukraine’s admission to the alliance “under any circumstances”. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has argued that this would mean open war with Russia, which he opposes.

However, according to Galibarenkov, one of the reasons for Kyiv to insist on joining NATO during the presidency of Biden, one of the biggest supporters of Ukraine, is the fear of Kyiv officials from the uncertainties surrounding the next American government and its policies on the Ukraine issue.

“Kamala Harris”, the vice president of the United States and the candidate of the Democrats in the presidential elections of the United States, has shown her desire to support Ukraine, but has not yet announced a specific policy regarding it. “Donald Trump”, the former president of the United States and the Republican candidate, has also promised to end the conflict within a day. Trump’s promise has scared Ukrainian leaders. Because according to them, Trump will end the war by “cutting off” US aid to Ukraine.

On the other hand, earlier Washington’s permanent representative in NATO, Julian Smith, in response to the request of the President of Ukraine for an immediate invitation to the alliance, said that Kyiv joining NATO is not a “short-term” issue.

Smith told a news conference that the US-led bloc had already made its position “very clear” on Kyiv’s potential accession, saying that “Ukraine is on an irreversible path to membership and Ukraine will become a member.”

Acceptance, however, is not something that will happen in the near future, he acknowledged. We are not at the point now where the coalition is talking about issuing invitations in the short term. But as always, we will continue to talk to our friends in Ukraine about ways they can continue to move closer to this alliance.

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