The U.S. reportedly has cooled on a road map to NATO membership for Ukraine, even though Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said earlier this week his country was aiming at "becoming a full member of NATO."
The Financial Times reported Thursday, citing officials familiar with talks taking place ahead of the military alliance's summit July 11-12 in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, the U.S. believes a road map to NATO membership would be a distraction from Kyiv's immediate security needs and bolster Russia's propaganda machine.
On Tuesday, NATO formally welcomed its newest member, Finland, when Kuleba talked about his country's goal of joining the military alliance. Leaders from Poland and Estonia are among those who would like Ukraine to join the alliance sooner rather than later, according to officials who spoke with the Financial Times.
In 2008, NATO welcomed Ukraine's "aspirations for membership" but has not made progress on the issue. The U.S. wants Ukraine to join NATO, but the Biden administration's stance is that now is not the time.
"In order for us to get to the question of when and how to get Ukraine into the alliance, we must, as [NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg] has noted, 'ensure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation,'" a U.S. official told the Financial Times.
Lithuania apparently holds a similar view to the U.S. Its foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, told Politico earlier this week it is important to show Ukraine the alliance is taking concrete steps to address its aspirations.
"We need to show to Ukraine that their application is being taken seriously, and they are making steps towards NATO, which at the end will end up with their full membership," he said.
The Insider reported Thursday a White House spokesperson declined to confirm the Financial Times report.
But at a press briefing Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre — asked about the U.S. position on Ukraine joining NATO — said although the Biden administration supports making membership available to any country that wishes to join, for now "We're focusing on making sure that the Ukrainian people have what they need to fight for their freedom."