White House says Ukraine needs reforms to join NATO. Ukraine responds

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said this during a press briefing on Wednesday, Ukrinform reports.

The White House representative made it clear that they support “NATO's policy of allowing new members to join.”

She also mentioned that decisions about joining NATO are made by the 31 allies and the candidate country.

Regarding Ukraine, discussions have taken place with NATO allies and Ukraine on how to support Ukraine's goals of joining the Euro-Atlantic community.

Jean-Pierre didn't provide specific details about diplomatic negotiations but reminded everyone of President Biden's statement. According to him, Ukraine needs to carry out reforms and meet the same standards as other NATO countries before joining the Alliance.

The spokesperson for the Biden administration added that “the US president believes Ukraine is capable of meeting these requirements.”

Ukraine’s response

On July 6, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said that the West should "reform" its attitude toward Russia.

"Currently, there is no other country in the world that is implementing numerous reforms amidst a large-scale war taking place on its territory. Ukraine remains committed to undertaking fundamental internal transformations," the diplomat wrote.

"At the same time, we believe one critical reform in the world remains unfinished—the Western approach towards Russia's role in the Euro-Atlantic security architecture," he added.

Nikolenko emphasized that extending an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance is crucial for the security interests of the allies and would serve as a guarantee of peace in Europe.

Ukraine's path to NATO membership:

Ukraine hopes to receive clear decisions on joining the Alliance in July during the NATO meeting in Vilnius. On May 23, Ukraine's ambassador to NATO, Natalia Galibarenko, mentioned that Ukraine is preparing two cooperation packages (political and practical), which will be presented for discussion during the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius. 

On May 30, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba outlined three key points that define Ukraine's vision for a successful outcome at the NATO summit in Vilnius. "Strengthen Ukraine-NATO institutional ties and assistance. Take a step toward UA membership. Provide security guarantees on Ukraine’s path to NATO." 

On June 10, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister, Volodymyr Havrylov, expressed his belief that the July NATO summit in Vilnius  will set the algorithm for Ukraine's accession to the Alliance.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that Ukraine will become a NATO member in the future, but due to the ongoing war, specific dates for accession cannot be determined. 

On June 15, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for Ukraine's membership in NATO with 425 votes in favor. 

On June 16, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on NATO chief Stoltenberg to drop the Membership Action Plan (MAP) if Ukraine joins NATO.

US President Joe Biden expressed support for removing the MAP stage, making the joining process simpler for Ukraine.

On June 21, the head of the British Foreign Ministry said that the country would support the simplification of Ukraine's accession to NATO. On June 22, PACE adopted a resolution supporting the Peace Formula and Ukraine's accession to NATO. On July 4, Ukraine's accession to NATO received support in the Bulgarian parliament, and the President of Lithuania called on allies to offer Ukraine a simplified accession to NATO.

On June 30, US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said that NATO member states are close to a consensus on Ukraine's accession to NATO without the MAP. And in an interview with CNN, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that an official invitation to join NATO is extremely important for Ukraine. He appealed to US leader Joe Biden to do so.