Ukraine Cannot Join Alliance During War, Says Nato Chief

Ukraine will not be able to join Nato as long as Russia’s invasion continues, the head of the alliance has said.

- CHRIS STEVENSON

“To become a member in the midst of a war is not on the agenda,” Jens Stoltenberg said. “The issue is what happens when the war ends.” Last September, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky announced a bid for fast-track membership of Nato after Russia’s president Vladimir Putin proclaimed four partially-occupied regions of Ukraine as annexed Russian land as part of Moscow’s invasion. Since then, there have been plenty of platitudes from Nato members about how Ukraine belongs in the alliance, but little concrete action, with some Western allies of Kyiv wary of moves that could push Nato towards an active war with Russia.

At an event organised by think tank German Marshall Fund of The United States in Brussels, Mr Stoltenberg acknowledged there were differences among the alliance over how to address Kyiv’s membership ambitions.

“There are different views in the alliance and, of course, the only way to make decisions in Nato is by consensus. There are consultations going on now,” he said, with the alliance set to hold a summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius in July.