Ukraine will not be invited to NATO this year - US State Department

US State Department spokesman Daniel Cisek said in a commentary to Suspilne.

According to him, this year the North Atlantic Alliance turns 75 years old, and recently it has been noticeable that "the Alliance is getting stronger," in particular, this is influenced by expansion - Finland's accession in April 2023 and the final steps towards Sweden's accession.

"This means that NATO is actually bigger and stronger than it has been in 75 years. This is also an important issue of the connection between NATO and Ukraine," the official said.

Cisek said that there are more and more conflicts in the world, so the number of challenges is growing as well. However, he emphasized that despite the differences among NATO members, the overall decision remains unanimous on Ukraine's accession.

The official recalled last year's NATO summit in Vilnius, where all members of the Alliance reiterated that "Ukraine has a place in NATO."

"NATO members know and understand that Ukrainians want to become a NATO member immediately and as soon as possible. To be honest, this is not expected at this year's NATO summit... probably after the war," he said.

Mr. Cisek emphasized that cooperation within the Senate is expected to be continued in order to implement reforms in Ukraine. However, the current priority is to provide assistance for defense against Russian aggression.

• On February 1, the US State Department denies that President Joe Biden's administration is opposed to Ukraine's membership in the North Atlantic Alliance.