Ukraine should not receive an invitation to join NATO during the next Atlantic Alliance summit in early July in Washington, American Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said in Brussels on Tuesday.
“I don’t expect the Alliance to invite” Ukraine to the summit, scheduled for July 9-11, Smith said at a press briefing ahead of a meeting of EU ministers. NATO Defense on Wednesday and Thursday in Brussels.
For Julianne Smith, the Washington summit in July should signal that “the Alliance continues to move closer to Ukraine” and is taking “concrete measures” to promote future membership of this country, currently at war with Russia. .
Accession impossible as long as the war lasts
During their summit last year in Vilnius, NATO countries reaffirmed that Ukraine was intended to join them, but without setting a timetable.
“We have worked very hard since the Vilnius summit last year to bring out a certain number of measures in order to continue to help our friends in Ukraine with the necessary reforms” before their future integration into the Atlantic Alliance, underlined the American ambassador.
All NATO member countries recognize that Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance is not possible as long as the war lasts. It would in fact be synonymous with conflict with Russia, to the extent that Article 5 of the Alliance stipulates that an attack against one member is an attack against all members.