Ukraine’s NATO membership hinges on war’s end - American top diplomat
Nation23 December 2024, 10:27 AM
He highlighted the vital role of NATO's Article 5 in ensuring Ukraine's security.
"I believe the strongest security guarantee for Ukraine is NATO membership as Article 5 is the most reliable and secure form of guarantee a state can have, Carpenter said.
"Achieving it is vital for Ukraine."
However, Carpenter believes that achieving this goal "will be challenging now because Ukraine is in an active phase of war."
"So, as I see it, when hostilities end, if this goal is achieved, NATO membership could follow. And this would provide security guarantees for Ukraine," the diplomat said.
"Interim guarantees that could be offered to Ukraine have to be considered right now," he noted.
"As I understand it, several European countries are discussing exactly this concept (a Western peacekeeping mission in Ukraine as a security guarantee – ed.). Therefore, in my opinion, the involvement of several EU countries investing in Ukraine's success and helping stabilize the situation would make sense."
Ukraine's NATO membership
On Oct. 16, Ukraine’s ambassador to NATO, Natalia Halibarenko, said in an interview with Reuters that Ukraine is diplomatically seeking an invitation to NATO before Joe Biden leaves the U.S. presidency.
In contrast, NATO Parliamentary Assembly President Gerry Connolly said Ukraine could only receive an invitation to NATO after restoring sovereignty over its territories.
On Nov. 24, Bloomberg reported that Joe Biden’s administration had considered publicly calling for an official invitation for Ukraine to join NATO. However, following Donald Trump’s victory in the November 2024 U.S. presidential election, the idea was abandoned.
On Dec. 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said an invitation to NATO should not exclude any part of Ukraine's territory, as this would implicitly acknowledge that all other territories are not only at risk but also not Ukrainian.
On Dec. 18, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that a new NATO command, headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany, began coordinating Western military assistance to Ukraine.