Both Western countries are embroiled in a crisis over giving war-torn Ukraine membership in NATO, the US-led Western military alliance. Since the beginning of Russia’s attack, Ukraine has been provided with all kinds of military support, including weapons and ammunition, but some of Kiev’s allies, including the United States, are not interested in giving membership to the alliance. Some countries, however, are ready to welcome Ukraine into NATO.
US President Joe Biden is adding different conditions each time in taking Ukraine into the alliance. Again, he said, Ukraine has no chance to become a member of NATO without stopping the war. Amid this fluctuating situation, the two-day NATO summit began today in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been invited to attend as a guest. He has already said that he will not participate if he is not given membership. After Turkey’s support to give membership to Ukraine last Saturday, fierce discussions started from both the United States and Russia on the issue. Analysts say that Ukraine will be disappointed if it does not get membership. Biden previously claimed that in order to get NATO membership, Ukraine must meet various conditions, including stopping corruption and establishing democracy. Then President Zelensky launched an anti-corruption campaign last year in the midst of an ongoing battle to meet those conditions. From the minister to the heads of the regional government were also removed. But in a special interview with CNN on July 7, Biden said that in order to get membership, the war in Ukraine must be stopped first. He claims, otherwise NATO will become a part of Russia-Ukraine war. Because NATO has the responsibility of protecting its members. Not only that, Biden fears that the risk of war between the United States and Russia will increase if membership is granted. He also said that it is unlikely that any specific date will be determined for NATO membership from this summit of the alliance. Zelenskiy said last Sunday that membership would send an important message that NATO is not afraid of Russia. According to NATO rules, adding new members requires the consent of all previous member states. Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has added a condition for Turkey to become a member of the European Union (EU) before supporting Sweden in NATO. He said that almost all the member countries of NATO are members of the EU, but Turkey has been waiting at the door of the EU for more than 50 years. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said it was possible to agree to Sweden’s membership in the alliance despite differences with Turkey. Because, Stockholm fulfills the necessary conditions. And Biden said in a phone conversation with Erdogan on Sunday that he wants to see Sweden as a member of NATO ‘as soon as possible’. Meanwhile, the Kremlin said that Putin met with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group, in Moscow on June 29. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during the meeting, Wagner commanders told Putin they would continue to fight on the battlefield. But just 5 days earlier, Wagner tried to march towards Moscow by rebelling. Source: News CNN and Al Jazeera.