Germany reiterates opposition to Ukraine's NATO membership

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Tuesday reiterated his opposition to Ukraine’s plans to immediately join NATO, ahead of the forthcoming summit of the western military alliance in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.

Speaking at a news conference with Romanian Prime Minister Ion-Marcel Ciolacu in Berlin, Scholz made it clear that “nobody can become a member of a defensive alliance (NATO) during a war.”

One of the criteria for NATO membership is that “there are no open border conflicts,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pressing NATO leaders to put Ukraine on a concrete path to accession, threatening not to attend the summit if they cannot deliver.

NATO leaders are to discuss deepening ties with Kyiv when they meet in Vilnius, without immediately bringing Ukraine into the fold as a member, given that the bloc’s security guarantees could draw allies into armed conflict with Russia.

“At the Vilnius summit and the preparations for the summit, we are not discussing the issue of a formal invitation. What we are discussing is how to move Ukraine closer to NATO and there are ongoing consultations and I am not in a position to preempt the outcome of those consultations,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg earlier said.

“The Vilnius summit in July will set out a vision for Ukraine’s future as an independent democratic member of the Euro-Atlantic family."

Ukraine officially submitted its application for fast-track NATO membership last September, following Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions.