President Biden says Ukraine won't easily join NATO

“They have to meet the same standards (as other countries). So we’re not going to make it easier,” President Biden told reporters on June 17 about Ukraine’s NATO membership process.

President Joe Biden answers reporters' questions at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on June 17.

The comments came ahead of a NATO summit in Lithuania in July, where leaders will hold the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in attendance, AFP reported.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the summit would give Ukraine a more equal footing in consultations and decisions on security issues. He stressed that while NATO would strengthen political ties with Ukraine at the summit, discussions about Kyiv’s membership would not be on the table.

NATO members in Eastern Europe have pushed for a roadmap for Ukraine to join the alliance, but key members such as the US and Germany are said to be reluctant to go too far beyond a vague 2014 pledge that Kyiv would be a future member.

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Ahead of President Biden's remarks, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius suggested that some standards could be relaxed if Ukraine were willing to join.

Ukraine’s admission raises concerns about the risk of NATO coming into direct conflict with Russia, as Kyiv is locked in a military conflict with Moscow. NATO countries have supplied tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine since Russia launched what it calls a special military operation in February 2022.

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