He noted that a simple majority of votes among member countries is not enough to invite Ukraine to the Alliance.
Jens Stoltenberg / photo president.gov.ua
Although all NATO countries agree to accept Ukraine into the alliance in the distant future, not all agree to extend an invitation now. As UNIAN correspondent reports, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this at a meeting with officers undergoing professional military education courses according to NATO standards.
“All allies have declared that Ukraine will be a NATO member state,” Stoltenberg said.
He reminded of his position that membership in the Alliance is the right place for Ukraine.
“And we need to move towards this goal. Work a lot so that you are fully compatible, meet all NATO standards, and so that when a political decision comes, you can do it,” Stoltenberg said.
The Secretary General of the Alliance also commented on the problem of Ukraine’s approach to the Alliance.
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“The problem is that when a country is invited to become a member of the treaty, we need not just a majority of the 32 allies, we need all allies to agree to it. And at the moment we have not reached that agreement. That is the reality. We we are working on it,” Stoltneberg said.
According to him, as soon as political conditions appear, Ukraine should be ready to join NATO, as was the case with Finland and Sweden. At the same time, he notes that by that moment Ukraine should be brought closer to the Alliance.
“I regret that we cannot move faster, but the reality of the Alliance is that consensus must be reached on any issues,” Stoltenberg said.
When Ukraine will become a member of NATO
As UNIAN reported, on April 29 in Kyiv, Stoltenberg said that he does not expect a unanimous consensus among all 32 NATO member states on the issue of inviting Ukraine to join the Alliance at the Alliance’s July summit in Washington. At the same time, he hopes that NATO will demonstrate what makes Ukraine closer to the Alliance.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Ukraine will become a member of NATO after expelling the Russian invaders from its territory.
