(TheConservativeTimes.org) – President Joe Biden recently stated that Ukraine is “not ready” to join NATO. The statement comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pushing for his country’s admittance into the alliance throughout its war with Russia.
In an interview ahead of Biden’s summit in Lithuania, Zelenskyy said it was within Biden’s power to ensure Ukraine’s NATO membership was advanced. Despite many Ukrainian citizens supporting the move, other NATO members fear it could drag all of Europe into a war with Russia.
If any NATO member is attacked, all alliance members must declare war on the aggressor. Should Ukraine become a NATO member, it could potentially lead to a global conflict between European and North American countries, including the United States. A widespread concern among many is whether NATO actually has the military capability of mobilizing collectively the way all members are obligated to.
In the interview, Zelenskyy urged the alliance to accept Ukraine as its newest member, saying that a majority of member nations support the country’s membership. In an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Biden said that he “spends a great deal of time” trying to hold NATO together, saying that Putin’s intention of invading Ukraine was to facilitate the collapse of NATO.
The president stated any vote to bring Ukraine into the NATO fold right now would be “premature,” and that the country must first meet “other qualifications,” such as democratization.
U.S. lawmakers across party lines agreed with the president’s decision. Michael McCaul, Republican House member and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” that bringing Ukraine into NATO would have to be an “incremental” process.
Further, McCaul said that Ukraine should achieve a ceasefire and eventual peace with Russia before its membership in NATO is even considered. He also noted that Ukraine must first win its counteroffensive against Russia to reclaim territory previously lost to the Russian military.
McCaul also suggested conversations with Ukraine about separate “security agreements” as a means of eventually working its way up to NATO membership.
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