NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has announced that Ukraine and its future assistance will be a major focus of discussion in a Defense Ministers meeting Thursday and Friday, which comes parallel to the G7 summit happening in Italy, where both Biden and Zelensky are meeting on its sidelines.
Stoltenberg is urging members of the alliance to use "strong language" when it comes to membership, but also introduced a key caveat that he has not clearly expressed before in prior addresses on the topic: Ukraine must prevail in the war with Russia if it hopes to be a full member.
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| Via Associated Press |
First, Stoltenberg reasoned: "It’s not for me to go into the details and the exact wording, but I expect that that language be even clearer in our commitment to that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance."
"I expect allies will actually make important announcements between now and the summit, and at the summit, for more military equipment. Air defense, artillery, missiles, which is urgently needed to ensure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation."
He then stated that Ukraine must 'win' - and that NATO must do everything to help this happen - before the country can be fully integrated as a NATO member:
"Without that, of course, there is no membership issue to be discussed. We need to ensure that Ukraine prevails, that is the absolute minimum for Ukraine to become a member of the alliance."
"The purpose of NATO, of course, is not to wage war, the purpose of NATO is to prevent war."
Analysts have long acknowledged this practical reality and big hurdle for membership. There would never be consensus on voting for admission (given all members must formally assent) while a hot war exists in the country, or even a conflict on its border. This is because admittance would automatically trigger the Article 5 common defense treaty and the West would immediately be 'forced' (by legal obligations of the treaty) to go to war with Russia.
Interestingly, Stoltenberg has revealed that he met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Budapest on Wednesday morning and that the Hungarian leader made clear that his country "would not participate in these NATO efforts."
"I have stated that I accept that position… Hungary will not send personnel to these activities and will not contribute to the NATO pledge," Orbán said. "At the same time, Prime Minister Orbán made it clear that of course they would adhere to all their NATO obligations."
Meanwhile, did Sen. Lindsey Graham just reveal the West's real motives for its actions in Ukraine?...
US Senator Lindsey Graham says Ukraine is a "gold mine" with $12 trillion worth of critical minerals, which the West "can't afford to lose".
— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) June 12, 2024
US companies want these resources, and Washington hopes to block China's access to them to hurt its tech industries.
(Full video below) pic.twitter.com/Q9AR8YUpfN
