US and Germany urge Zelensky to hold off on NATO membership bids
The United States and Germany have appealed to President Volodymyr Zelensky, warning against his calls to set clear deadlines for Ukraine's admission to NATO during the Alliance summit. Zelensky was asked not to demand what is "impossible" from the Alliance, writes The Telegraph.
The British newspaper claims that the USA and Germany "have been vocal in their warnings against offering Kyiv a firm timeframe." Washington and Berlin have also cautioned Zelensky not to demand the "impossible" from the Alliance. The next NATO summit will be held in Washington at the beginning of July.
The Telegraph cites sources in Joe Biden's administration.
No invitation to NATO?
"They’re very sceptical about bringing Ukraine any further along the path to full Nato membership this year. The US is perhaps not as concerned as Germany, but there is a worry about the threat of Russia to the rest of the alliance," the article reads.
Ukraine "has the right to defend themselves"
On Tuesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, before a meeting with EU defence ministers, said that Ukraine's use of Western weapons against targets in Russia does not make NATO a party to the conflict.
Furthermore, he emphasized that "this is a war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine. Ukraine has the right to defend themselves. And that includes also striking targets on Russian territory."
He added that this is currently important as fierce fighting occurs in the Kharkiv region, near the Russian border. It would be "very hard and difficult for the Ukrainians to defend themselves if they cannot hit military targets just on the other side of the border. These may be missile launchers. It may be artillery. It may be airfields which are used to attack Ukraine. And if Ukraine cannot hit those military targets, it will be much harder for them to defend themselves - the NATO chief said.
"No" to sending troops to Ukraine
The head of the North Atlantic Alliance added that NATO "has no plans to send its forces to Ukraine or engage directly in the fighting."
- NATO’s goal is to support Ukraine by supplying it with military equipment and conducting operations to prevent the conflict from spilling over beyond Ukrainian territory - he emphasised.
