Blinken names conditions for Ukraine's accession to NATO

Ukraine will join NATO only if Kiev continues reforms of military institutions and strengthens democracy inside the country. This was announced by U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on December 18 during a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, which was broadcast on the YouTube channel of the U.S. State Department.

"Ukraine will and should be in NATO," Blinken stated.

He specified that in order to join the alliance, Kiev needs to continue taking "practical steps" and reform military institutions, as well as continue strengthening democracy.

In addition, the Secretary of State said that Ukraine's accession to NATO will be one of the most difficult points in peace negotiations with Russia. He called the process of Kiev's admission to the alliance will be "very, very difficult."

Blinken also added that the United States admits the possible productivity of the discussion of the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict with the Russian Federation after President-elect Donald Trump comes to power.

Blocks of discord: the OSCE will start preparing Kyiv for EU and NATO accession

The appointment of a Czech diplomat to the post of Special Representative of the Chairmanship took place without Russia's consent

Earlier, on December 18, it was reported that there is still no consensus in NATO on the issue of inviting Ukraine to the alliance.

On 12 December, political scientist and associate professor at the Finance University under the Russian government Alexei Martynov told Izvestiya that the idea of Ukraine joining NATO and the EU was futile, noting that the West understands this. At the same time, he noted that Kiev's trustees continue to promote this rhetorical question in order to force the topic of supporting Ukraine.

Before that, on December 10, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office, Ihor Zhovkva, said that the country's accession to NATO was "beyond the reach" of the Kiev regime and that it was not a matter of the near future. At the same time, it was reported that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy (his term expired on May 20) said that it was pointless to discuss NATO membership with US President-elect Donald Trump. In addition, he announced his intention to call the current American leader Joe Biden on this issue. American entrepreneur and billionaire Ilon Musk expressed bewilderment at the words of the Ukrainian head of state.

Ukraine applied to join NATO on an accelerated basis on September 30, 2022. At the time, Zelenskyy said that in fact the country was already in the alliance and met its standards.