RT quoted US President Joe Biden as saying that Ukraine will not be given special privileges to join the NATO military alliance, Kiev must meet the alliance's standards like many other members.
President Biden's statement comes amid reports of a plan to shorten the process for Ukraine to join the alliance proposed by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
“They have to meet the same standards as every member. We’re not going to make it easy to join the alliance,” Biden told reporters at a press conference in Washington on June 17.
US President Joe Biden (right) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a meeting at the White House on June 13. (Photo: AP)
Previously, on June 13, President Biden also had talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House.
At the meeting, the NATO chief is said to have laid out plans to simplify the accession process for Ukraine, arguing that Kiev has made significant progress towards membership.
Under Mr Stoltenberg’s plan, Ukraine would not be required to complete the so-called “membership action plan” that is usually imposed on candidates. Other eastern European members of the bloc have gone through this process before being admitted. Finland, however, has been given a pass.
Several US media outlets previously reported that Mr Biden appeared to be “open” to the NATO chief’s plan and even offered his temporary support. Other reports on the subject suggest that President Biden has a different plan in mind for Ukraine.
According to the New York Times , the US administration will be reluctant to grant Ukraine full NATO membership, instead promoting the 'Israeli model', which means a time-bound commitment to maintain the flow of Western weapons to a designated country.
Joining NATO has been a topic pursued by pro-Western Ukrainian politicians for decades, but Kiev has made little progress toward joining the US-led military alliance.
The process appears to have accelerated amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Tra Khanh (Source: russian.rt.com)
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