The United States is working with its allies to bring Ukraine’s military up to NATO standards but is not currently providing the nation with a roadmap for membership, according to America’s top diplomat.
Though Ukrainian leadership is eager for more NATO support, up to and including joining the alliance, the organization was steadily focusing on helping the nation to repel the ongoing Russian invasion, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“Our focus right now is relentlessly on doing what must be done to [help Ukraine] defend itself against Russian aggression and, indeed, to retake the territory that Russia has taken,” Blinken said at an April 5 press conference in Brussels.
The United States approved its 35th drawdown of security funding for Ukraine on April 4, bringing the total amount of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to more than $35 billion.
Blinken said that the United States was working closely with its allies in NATO to implement the alliance’s Strategic Concept, which characterizes a powerful and free Ukraine as vital to European security interests.
“A strong, independent Ukraine is vital for the stability of the Euro-Atlantic area,” the strategy says.
“We will continue to develop our partnerships with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine to advance our common interest in Euro-Atlantic peace, stability, and security.”
NATO maintains an open-door policy in which any nation can request a pathway for membership, and Ukraine has repeatedly requested an expedited membership process.
The alliance’s bylaws, however, prohibit the admission of any nation that does not maintain territorial integrity. Ukraine, therefore, likely cannot join NATO until it regains its territory from Russia.
Blinken said that the alliance was “bringing Ukraine up to NATO standards and NATO interoperability,” but not actively working towards accepting Ukraine as a member.
“Of course, NATO’s door remains open,” Blinken said.
To that end, Blinken added that NATO was seeking a “just and durable peace” for the ongoing war in Ukraine, that would recognize Ukrainian sovereignty, uphold the UN charter, and not allow Russia to simply prepare for a new invasion.
Blinken’s comments follow a meeting with NATO colleagues in Brussels, where the military alliance welcomed Finland as its 31st member.
Both Finland and Sweden broke with decades of precedent to request membership in the alliance following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Finland’s acceptance means that the nation will be expected to contribute two percent of its GDP to collective defense and that it will be defended by all its allies should it be attacked by a foreign power.
“With this step, Finland is safer, NATO is stronger,” Blinken said.
“This has genuinely been a historic meeting of the alliance.”
Finland’s accession will also extend NATO’s border with mainland Russia by 830 miles.
With that eastward expansion in mind, Blinken clarified that NATO is a purely defensive alliance and is not looking to provoke or otherwise stir conflict with Russia.
“But it is a defensive alliance that has to have a strong deterrent precisely because we want to make sure that countries think twice, think three times, and then don’t engage in aggression.”
Blinken added that NATO and Finland have worked closely together for many years, and expressed that the nation’s acceptance of the alliance would expand that work.
“Finland and the NATO alliance have been working closely together for years,” Blinken said.
“I would anticipate that across the board this has the effect of further strengthening [that cooperation].”