Ukraine cannot join NATO while at war, Scholz says

October 24, 2024

By Ukraine

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Speaking to German public broadcaster ZDF on Oct. 24, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed Kyiv's appeals for an immediate invitation to join NATO, stating that "a country at war absolutely cannot become a member of NATO."

"Everyone knows that, there is no disagreement on this subject," Scholz added.

The comments appear to be the first public comments made by Scholz on Ukraine's NATO aspirations since President Volodymyr Zelensky unveiled his five-point victory plan to Western allies, which includes Kyiv's invitation to join NATO placed at the top of the list. Germany was reportedly previously known to have reservations about the move.

According to the information obtained by the Kyiv Independent, Kyiv had planned to ask for NATO membership within months, not years.

Kyiv submitted its application to join in September 2022, and in July 2024 the alliance affirmed Ukraine's "irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership" — though Ukraine has not received any definitive news about its future accession.

During the interview, Scholz said that NATO allies "have described a perspective" on Ukraine's eventual accession to the alliance, adding "but I think that beyond that, there is currently no need for any new decision."

Further rejecting Zelensky's calls for an invitation to join the alliance as outlined in the victory plan, Scholz said that "an invitation is normally quite quickly linked to membership."

Earlier this week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Germany has softened its stance on Ukraine's NATO membership, but remains "skeptical."

"But still, the U.S. will have an impact on this (skepticism)… We believe that they are consolidating their thoughts on NATO and this has an impact on, for example, Hungary and Slovakia," Zelensky said on Oct. 22.

According to Zelensky, who has repeatedly called on partners to issue a membership invitation to Kyiv, Ukraine will join NATO only after Russia's full-scale war ends, the president said in April.

Earlier on Oct. 24, following a meeting Scholz in Berlin, Slovak President Peter Pellegrini said that Ukraine's immediate accession to NATO was "not realistic."

"We agreed with the Chancellor that today the issue of Ukraine's accession is not on the table, and it cannot come to the table," Pellegrini said.

Pellegrini's comments come just a day after Politico reported that at least seven NATO countries are reluctant to grant Ukraine an invitation to join NATO, according to four anonymous U.S. and NATO officials and diplomats.

Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith told reporters that NATO does not currently have plans to invite Ukraine into the alliance in the immediate future.