‘No doubt’ Ukraine will join NATO after war, Pentagon chief says
Ukraine will join NATO once the war with Russia has ended, US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin told CNN.
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Speaking on Thursday after the two-day NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Mr Austin said he has “no doubt” Ukraine will join NATO after the war.
“We heard just about every country in the room say as much,” he stressed.
The Pentagon chief noted there is “still work to be done” in bringing Ukraine's equipment and training up to NATO standards.
While “we are doing this work now as they fight this war,” he added, “there is more that will need to be done to ensure that they have a full complement of capabilities.”
At a meeting Tuesday, the North Atlantic Alliance’s leaders agreed to remove a membership action plan stage for Ukraine on its way to NATO membership, but did not extend an invitation to join, something that Kyiv has been hoping for.
Ukraine had repeatedly said that it wanted to receive a political invitation to the Alliance at the NATO summit in Vilnius, although it appreciated that membership is out of the question until the end of the war.
