No Consensus Yet on Ukraine’s NATO Membership Invitation, Says White House Official

The White House commented that there is no consensus within NATO on Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance.

This was stated in a teleconference by a White House Senior Administration official. 

When asked about longer-term security guarantees for Ukraine, the official said “I don’t have any announcements on changes in policy to make today.”

He further noted that discussions among NATO members are ongoing regarding extending an invitation to Ukraine.

“There’s a discussion amongst NATO Allies about an invitation. There is not consensus at this time to offer Ukraine an invitation. But as you know, at the NATO Summit just, what, a couple months ago — in July, mid-July — all 32 Allies affirmed that Ukraine is on an irreversible path to membership. So the question is about the tactics of how to encourage that path and how to gain consensus on the next steps,” the official stated.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated at a press conference following his participation in the meeting of the European Council on October 17 that Ukraine has only two options: either having nuclear weapons or joining NATO, and today Kyiv chooses to join the alliance.

Earlier on October 16, Zelenskyy emphasized that an invitation of Ukraine to NATO is one of the key elements of Ukraine’s Victory Plan.