British envoy downplays hopes for Ukraine NATO action at summit, citing ongoing conflict with Russia

Ukraine should not expect significant progress on its membership application at the upcoming summit in Washington, British Ambassador to NATO David Quarrey said on Feb. 8, according to Politico.

This is due to the “situation on the ground,” a likely reference to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.

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Britain is nonetheless absolutely convinced that Ukraine’s “rightful place” is in NATO.

“It’s a question of when, not if, and our job here is to continue supporting Ukraine as it comes ever closer to the alliance,” he said.

Quarrey also commented on the EU’s approval of a €50 billion ($53.7 billion) aid package for Ukraine, expressing hope that the aid would be delivered “as quickly as possible.”

This assistance is important, among other things, because of the political signal it sends about the West’s continued commitment to Ukraine and its desire to “see this through,” he said.

Read also: State Department denies US opposition to Ukraine’s NATO membership

The NATO summit in Washington will be held on July 9-11.

At the last NATO summit in Vilnius, Ukraine was not invited, but the final communiqué stated that Ukraine no longer needs to fulfill the Membership Action Plan to join NATO.

It also noted that the Alliance sees Ukraine in NATO, but member states did not outline any clear conditions or timelines for invitation and accession, as Kyiv had demanded.

The summit also established the NATO-Ukraine Council, and the G7 countries declared a promise of future security guarantees for Ukraine in a framework document.

The Wall Street Journal cited sources as saying that some Western officials were offering Ukraine a deal on territorial concessions to end the war in exchange for joining NATO.

During a press conference on Dec. 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that NATO was the most powerful option for Ukraine, but that “partial” accession to the Alliance was a huge risk.

Read also: Ukraine and Germany set to sign security pact in February

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