The North Atlantic Alliance is not yet prepared to grant Ukraine membership or extend an invitation to NATO, U.S. Permanent Representative to NATO Julianne Smith stated.
“The alliance has not, to date, reached the point where it is prepared to offer membership or an invitation to Ukraine,” she said in an interview with POLITICO, News.Az reports.
The envoy also stressed that Washington has “concerns” about EU moves to prioritize buying European weapons, saying that strategy will often fail to offer the cheapest or quickest way to get arms to Ukraine and other states in need.
“I appreciate what their medium and long-term view is, but I’m not sure that limiting purchases to the EU will really get assistance on the shortest timeline, to either our friends in Ukraine or to the countries across the alliance that have some real acute shortfalls,” she said.