At a meeting of its foreign ministers on Tuesday in Romania, NATO reaffirmed its commitment to admitting Ukraine to the 30-nation alliance despite the ongoing Russian invasion of that country. According to experts, one of the factors that led to Russia’s invasion of the nation earlier this year was the potential inclusion of Kyiv in the most extensive security alliance in the world.
NATO’s door is open, as Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated before the summit in Bucharest. Furthermore, as more nations joined, NATO argued that Russia could not halt the alliance’s growth.
Montenegro and North Macedonia joined NATO earlier this year. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused this. And worries that Moscow might target them, Finland and Sweden have also applied to join the alliance.
“Russia does not have a veto” over nations joining NATO, according to Stoltenberg. We still support Ukraine’s membership, he continued. However, Kyiv applied for “accelerated accession” to NATO on September 30, but given the lengthy procedure, it might not join anytime soon.
About the Russian president, Stoltenberg said, “I think what he’s afraid of our democracy and freedom, and that’s the main challenge for him. Putin cannot prevent sovereign nations from making “sovereign decisions” that do not endanger Russia. He continued. Additionally, Russian President Vladimir Putin cited Ukraine’s ambitious application to join the security alliance as a danger to Moscow’s security earlier this year.
As Russia reportedly continues to target Kyiv’s energy infrastructure, leaving millions to perish, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to endure the bitter winter mobilizing support for Ukraine. “Russia is using the vicious drone and missile attacks to keep Ukraine in the dark and cold this winter. According to Stoltenberg, President Putin is attempting to weaponize winter to make Ukrainians freeze or leave.
