The president said that the alliance needed to lay out a “rational path” for Ukraine’s membership but that it was still short of some requirements for joining, including over democratization.
NATO membership would also boost Ukraine’s bid to cement a democracy that was vulnerable before the war and fulfill the desire of many of its people to join the West.
Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, and Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, last week introduced a resolution calling for a roadmap to Ukraine’s NATO membership as soon as it is practicable.
“Guaranteeing Ukraine’s security would erode US security by increasingly the risk, obviously, of war with Russia,” he said.
Even if Biden were to amend his position on accelerating NATO membership for Ukraine, he cannot ensure a successor would honor treaty obligations.
Persons:
Joe Biden, Biden, ” Biden, CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, ”, –, Putin, stiffen, Lindsey Graham, Richard Blumenthal, “, We’re, Michael McCaul, Ben Friedman, ” Friedman, Donald Trump, Zelensky
Organizations:
CNN, NATO, Ukrainian, ABC News, Kremlin, Warsaw, South Carolina Republican, Connecticut Democrat, Ukraine, GOP Rep, House Foreign Affairs Committee, Texas Republican, Defense, American, Soviet, Russia
Locations:
Europe, Ukraine, Moscow, Russia, Lithuania, Eastern Europe, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Baltic, Latvia, Estonia, Soviet Union, Bucharest, Sens, Connecticut, Russian, United Kingdom, “ State, Western Europe, Israel, Taiwan, United States, Eastern