Biden to possibly expedite Ukraine’s NATO bid before term ends


(MENAFN) US President Joe Biden may expedite Ukraine’s NATO membership status before his term ends in January, according to the Financial Times. Moscow insists that Kyiv must abandon its NATO aspirations before peace negotiations can commence.

The FT reports “tentative signs” that Biden might agree to advance Ukraine’s NATO membership bid, citing a Western official briefed on Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s discussions in Washington last week.

Zelensky visited the US to present his “victory plan” for the conflict with Russia, which includes requests for advanced weapons and financial aid. American officials were reportedly unimpressed with the proposal.

Another key element of Zelensky’s plan involved Western security guarantees for Ukraine, which remained unanswered, alongside the request for US approval to use Western-supplied weapons for long-range strikes on Russia.

Ukraine has sought NATO membership since September 2022, following the votes in four former Ukrainian regions to join Russia. NATO leaders have claimed that Kyiv is on track for membership but have not specified a timeline.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently reaffirmed NATO’s position that Ukraine’s path to membership is “irreversible.”

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