Before arriving in Europe, Joe Biden believes that Ukraine is “not ready” to join NATO

US President Joe Biden said on Sunday that Ukraine was “not ready” to join NATO, days before the Alliance’s summit in Vilnius, he said Sunday in an interview with CNN. “I don’t think Ukraine is ready to join NATO,” Joe Biden said in an interview with Continuous News.

The US president is due to leave for Europe next week on a five-day trip that will take him to London, Vilnius and then Helsinki. In Vilnius, Lithuania, he will attend the NATO summit on 11 and 12 July. Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance, which Kyiv wants, should be at the center of discussions.

There is no “unanimity” to welcome Ukraine

“I don’t think that there is unanimity within NATO on whether to introduce Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this time, in the midst of a war,” the American president, however, assessed. “If that were the case, we would be at war with Russia,” he warned, recalling the Alliance’s determination to defend “every inch” of its territory.

Pointing out that he had had a lengthy exchange of views on the issue with Volodymyr Zelensky, Joe Biden said he had assured his Ukrainian counterpart that while the process of Ukraine’s accession was under way, which he said could take “some time”, the United The states will continue to provide security and weapons to Kiev. “I think it is premature to call for a vote now because there are other conditions that need to be met, including democratization and other issues,” he concluded.

In the absence of accelerated NATO membership, Ukraine, on the other hand, received on Friday a U.S. pledge to supply cluster munitions, a highly controversial weapon that Volodymyr Zelenskiy called an “important aid program.” Banned in many countries, these weapons are heavily criticized as they kill indiscriminately by dispersing small explosive charges before or after impact, and are accused of causing many collateral civilian casualties. Joe Biden said the decision to deliver these bombs was “difficult” but “the right one.”