Germany plans to block Ukraine-NATO bid to not provoke Russia's war – The Telegraph
Germany plans to postpone Ukraine's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance during the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11-12 for fear that Ukrainian membership will lead to a war between the bloc and Russia.
A NATO official who spoke with The Telegraph said Germany would use the upcoming summit to push for security guarantees for Ukraine.
Berlin is stand-offish at the prospect of offering Ukraine immediate membership in NATO. It wants a process and time to develop guarantees to essentially block membership.
Time is needed to develop guarantees that would essentially block membership… Berlin does not want Putin to potentially test Article 5, the source told The Telegraph.
The NATO summit will take place in Vilnius on July 11-12, where the topic of the Russia-Ukraine war is expected to occupy a high place on the agenda.
The alliance has not promised Ukraine to extend a membership offer and has instead expressed an intention to bring Ukraine "closer" to the alliance.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Ukraine deserves to be a NATO member during his meeting with Ukraine's Zelensky.
US's Biden believes Ukraine's accession to NATO could be considered only after the war is over.
