UKRAINE wants to become the 33rd member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) after Sweden.
Becoming a full member of NATO and the European Union are long-term goals Ukraine is trying to achieve.
But Washington’s latest response on the matter dashed hopes of speeding up its membership process.
Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker for Verkhovna Rada or Ukraine’s parliament said the country wants to become the 33rd member of NATO the same way Finland and Sweden have gone through the process.
Meanwhile, United States President Joe Biden’s latest remarks cast doubts as to whether the Nordic Country will be able to speed up its NATO membership.
Just this past weekend, Biden said he won’t make it easier for Ukraine to join NATO, noting it has to meet the requirements to be a member.
Under NATO’s Membership Action Plan (MAP), candidates must make military and democratic reforms before being considered to join.
Biden’s statement opposed previous reports claiming that he supported waiving the requirement for Ukraine to obtain a MAP to join NATO.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on the other hand said member states plan to approve a long-term aid package for Ukraine during the upcoming summit in Lithuania next month – a move he said will enable the Ukrainian Defense Forces to meet NATO standards.
Stefanchuk said Ukraine intends to start a conversation about its full membership of the European Union by the end of 2023 with expectations negotiations will move faster than its NATO membership.
