NATO’s Washington summit to help build bridge for Ukraine becoming NATO member: Blinken
Washington,: The 2024 NATO summit in Washington will help build a bridge for Ukraine becoming a NATO member, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday.
“Ukraine will become a member of NATO. Our purpose at the summit is to help build a bridge to that membership and to create a clear pathway for Ukraine moving forward,” Blinken said at a meeting with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Brussels.
A lot of work has been done over the last couple of days during NATO foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, and more work is to be done “between now and the summit,” he added.
The secretary also reiterated his call on Congress to move forward with President Joe Biden’s supplemental request, which includes multi-billion-dollar aid for Ukraine.
“The supplemental will help ensure we can continue to deliver for Ukraine because Ukraine is delivering for us, fighting their fight every day,” Blinken stated.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that NATO’s expansion to include Ukraine would create a direct national security threat to Russia and that Moscow considers the non-aligned status of Ukraine to be extremely important to put an end to the years-long conflict.
Kiev’s plans to join the bloc were among the reasons why Russia launched its special military operation in February 2022.