Joe Biden’s Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said Thursday in no uncertain terms that war torn Ukraine will become a member of the NATO alliance. This could draw the United States and Europe into direct military conflict with Russia, but that apparently was not a concern.
Blinken’s comments came in Brussels during the organization’s 75th anniversary celebration.
He declared that member states will “build a bridge” for Ukraine to cross into membership. Blinken echoed other alliance leaders when he flatly declared, “Ukraine will become a member of NATO.”
Blinken said “we will do everything we can, allies will do everything they can, to ensure Ukraine has what it needs to continue to deal with Russia’s ongoing aggression.”
While asserting that a pathway to membership will be cleared by the alliance, Blinken emphasized military support for Kyiv.
The Secretary of State told the media that “we are equally focused as I said on the immediate, and on Ukraine’s needs today, tomorrow, the day after to help it withstand this ongoing aggression from Russia.”
This regime really wants a WWIII.
Secretary of State Blinken says Ukraine will be joining NATO pic.twitter.com/G90HlXEu7A
— Sara Rose 🇺🇸🌹 (@saras76) April 4, 2024
Not every NATO member is on board with the inevitability of Ukraine ascending into the alliance. In 2023, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz observed that the nation did not meet the criteria for membership.
Scholz noted, “It is also clear that we then have to discuss which security guarantees can be given in a post-war situation. But we are far from there yet…NATO’s criteria include a whole series of conditions that Ukraine cannot currently meet.”
That did not deter President Joe Biden and NATO head Jens Stoltenberg from declaring their intentions for Kyiv.
The pair commented last year that “Allies agree that Ukraine will become a member of NATO.” This is an outcome that Russian President Vladimir Putin flatly rejected.
But Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba was pleased with Blinken’s pronouncement. “We look forward to the outcome. Of course we believe Ukraine deserves to be a member of NATO and that this should happen sooner rather than later.”
He thanked the U.S. Secretary of State for the “strong, encouraging message.”
A series of 10-year treaties between individual NATO states and Ukraine have already been signed. Finland on Wednesday became the latest to ink such an agreement.
