RTSat, 01 Oct 2022 08:59 UTC
© Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFPUS Capitol
Zelensky's unexpected demand to fast-track membership talks has reportedly been met with a mixed reaction. Ukraine's bid for accelerated accession to NATO caught Washington off-guard, driving a wedge between a number of US lawmakers, Politico reported on Friday.
When the outlet asked
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi if she supports Kiev's demand to join NATO, she stopped short of unequivocally endorsing the move, saying:
"The US is very committed to democracy in Ukraine. Let's win this war. But I would be for them having a security guarantee."
Democratic Party colleague
Representative Mike Quigley (D- Illinois) said that Washington should support Ukraine's NATO bid:
"Ukraine's fight is the reason we formed NATO in the first place. An authoritarian regime cannot be allowed to wipe out a democratic country."
On Friday, following the start of the formal accession of four former Ukrainian regions to Russia,
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky demanded that the procedure for joining NATO be fast-tracked. This apparently
came as a surprise to the Biden administration, according to two US officials cited by the outlet.
Many Western officials fear that
if Kiev becomes a full-fledged member of the bloc, it would not only provoke Russia, but would also draw Washington and Moscow into a direct war, as NATO's charter stipulates that an attack on one member is considered an attack against the entire alliance. The only instance in which this principle has been applied came after the 9/11 terrorist attacks against the US.
On Friday, President Vladimir Putin signed treaties on the inclusion of the two Donbass republics, as well as the two southern Ukrainian regions which had declared independence, into the Russian Federation. All four territories held referendums from September 23 to 27, in which the people voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining Russia.
Western leaders have condemned Moscow's latest moves. US President Joe Biden has vowed to impose further sanctions on Russia and continue to supply Kiev with military aid.
Comment: Kissinger speaks out, offers advice on NATO membership:
Washington's attempts to incorporate Ukraine into NATO after the collapse of the Soviet Union were not prudent, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said on Friday.
Speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-partisan US think tank, the 99-year-old veteran diplomat argued that Washington tried to indiscriminately include all former members of the Soviet bloc under its umbrella after the Berlin wall fell, and that the
"whole region between the center of Europe and Russian border became open to restructure. From the Russian point of view, the United States then attempted to integrate this whole region, without exception, into an American-led strategic system. This development basically removed Russia's historic safety belt. It was not a wise American policy to attempt to include Ukraine into NATO."
Kissinger does not believe, however, that this justifies attempts by Russian President Vladimir Putin to re-incorporate Ukraine into Moscow's sphere of influence by a "surprise attack."
Kissinger said he does not know if it is possible to make peace with the Russian leader, but stressed that the West "must seek an opportunity for an arrangement that guarantees Ukrainian freedom" and keeps the country part of the European system.
Moreover, Kissinger opined that in a way, Russia has "already lost the war" because its capacity to threaten Europe with conventional attacks, which it had enjoyed for decades or even centuries, "has now been demonstrably overcome."
Despite that, the former secretary of state signaled that sooner or later, the West and Russia must engage in dialogue:
"Some dialogue, maybe on an unofficial level, maybe in an exploratory way is very important. In the nuclear environment, such an outcome is preferable to a 'battlefield decision'."
Arguing that Washington has rejected traditional diplomacy, in early August, Kissinger warned that the US had found itself
"at the edge of war with Russia and China on issues which we partly created, as it has been "seeking to convert or condemn their interlocutors rather than to penetrate their thinking."
Germany's reaction to NATO bid:
Germany will do everything to avoid NATO becoming a direct party in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said. Her remarks came after Kiev requested to become an official member of the US-led military bloc.
"We have made it clear from day one that we have a responsibility to ensure that the war does not spread to other countries, that NATO does not itself become a party in the war. And that remains true today. We are doing everything we can to ensure that other countries and NATO are not drawn into this war.
"Berlin will continue to support Ukraine, including by [sending] heavy weapons, in its right to self-defense."
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said the decision on Ukraine's membership would ultimately be made jointly by all NATO members. "Germany will not do it alone," she stated.
Ukraine formally applied to join NATO on Friday. President Vladimir Zelensky argued that Kiev and the bloc's members are already "de facto allies" and asked for accelerated admission.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the bloc supports Ukraine's right to choose its alliances, but the issue of its membership will be decided by a consensus of all 30 existing member states.
Comment: Kissinger speaks out, offers advice on NATO membership: Germany's reaction to NATO bid: