Paris: Scholz and Biden against NATO invitation for Ukraine
Ukraine has been striving for NATO membership for a long time. At last year's summit, Kiev was disappointingly forced to acknowledge that the door to the alliance was not as open as anticipated. Since then, there have been few advancements, according to the Elysée Palace - and a finger was pointed towards Berlin and Washington.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden are blocking significant progress for Ukraine on the path to NATO membership from the French perspective. "Ultimately, it is a decision of the allies to invite Ukraine to join NATO," it was stated shortly before the NATO summit in Washington. However, such a decision faces strong opposition from Germany and the United States. This was also the case at the summit last year in Vilnius, where the Ukrainians had to reluctantly acknowledge that the NATO door was not as open as they had hoped. The scenario at the summit in Washington is likely to be similar.
The NATO perspective for Ukraine has been a contentious issue within the alliance for a long time. Countries like Germany and the US refuse to formally extend an invitation to join in the current situation. The primary concern is that such a step could lead to further escalation of the Ukraine conflict.
On the other hand, there are several other allies who argue that Russia should be clearly and unmistakably shown that it cannot prevent Ukraine's NATO membership. In this logic, the hope is that an invitation to Ukraine in NATO could even lead to a faster end of the war.
A compromise could now be a declaration in the summit communiqué that the Ukrainian membership process should not be blocked or "irreversible." However, this would go against the German understanding of membership processes. According to this, a membership candidate only advances if it fulfills reform requirements and is prepared to face setbacks if developments emerge that are not in line with Western values and standards.
A fundamental agreement on Ukraine's accession to NATO was supposedly already reached by the NATO states in 2008. At that time, it was agreed at a summit in Bucharest that Ukraine would become a NATO member - without any timeframe. To the three-day leaders' meeting that begins on this Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected as a guest. With him, a meeting of the so-called NATO-Ukraine Council is scheduled for Thursday.
- Emmanuel Macron, from the French perspective, has criticized Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden for blocking significant progress for Ukraine's NATO membership.
- Volodymyr Selensky, the Ukrainian president, is expected to attend the NATO summit this Tuesday and participate in a NATO-Ukraine Council meeting on Thursday, hoping for advancements in Ukraine's NATO membership process.
- Despite strong opposition from Germany and the United States, some NATO allies propose that an invitation to Ukraine in NATO could lead to a faster end to the Ukraine conflict.
- European leaders like Emmanuel Macron advocate for a more open-door policy towards Ukraine's NATO membership, considering it a crucial step in countering Russia's influence in Eastern Europe.
