Moscow will get no say in decision on Kyiv's NATO membership

6/6/2023 11:28

        NATO will not allow Russia to decide when Ukraine can join the Western alliance, Norway said on Wednesday as it hosted NATO foreign ministers seeking to
        narrow divisions over Kyiv's membership bid before a July summit.
        
        "It is for Ukraine and NATO allies to decide when Ukraine becomes a NATO member, it's not up to Moscow to decide," Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt told reporters on the eve of a two-day meeting with her NATO counterparts.
        
        The alliance has not acceded to Ukraine's request for fast-track membership as Western governments such as the U.S. and Germany are wary of any move that might take the alliance closer to war with Russia.
        
        Kyiv and some of its closest allies in eastern Europe want concrete steps to bring Ukraine closer to membership to be agreed when NATO leaders hold a summit on July 11-12 in Vilnius, Lithuania.