The bloc\u2019s top military body has convened in Ukraine for the first time in eight years despite it not being a member<\/p>\n
The NATO Military Committee, the bloc\u2019s highest military authority, has gathered in Kiev despite Ukraine not being a member.
\nThe visit comes just a day after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Ukraine\u2019s NATO membership \u201cis not on the table as we speak,\u201d noting that accession would require unanimous backing.
\nKiev\u2019s potential NATO membership has been one of the central issues of the Ukraine conflict. Moscow has long opposed the US-led military bloc\u2019s eastward expansion and has made Ukrainian neutrality a key condition of any settlement, arguing that NATO\u2019s presence there would pose a direct threat to Russian national security.
\nUkraine made joining NATO a foreign policy priority following the Western-backed Maidan coup in Kiev in 2014 and later enshrined the objective in its constitution. In September 2022, Vladimir Zelensky demanded \u201caccelerated accession.\u201d As recently as July, he argued that Ukraine\u2019s membership would be \u201centirely natural.\u201d
\nNATO continues to officially describe Ukraine as being on an \u201cirreversible path\u201d toward entry. However, former Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny, who now serves as Kiev\u2019s ambassador to the UK, said in August that he saw no realistic prospect of it happening.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Ukrainian MP defies Zelensky on NATO<\/p>\n
In a video address on Wednesday, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the chair of the NATO Military Committee, announced that he and military representatives from all 32 member states had arrived in Kiev. It is the committee\u2019s first such visit to Ukraine in eight years.
\n\u201cWe are here in full strength with a clear message: the bond between NATO and Ukraine is stronger and stronger,\u201d Dragone said.
\nAccording to the NATO official, the delegation discussed Ukraine\u2019s military priorities with the country\u2019s top brass, as well as lessons from the conflict that could be used to strengthen the bloc\u2019s preparedness for \u201ccurrent and future threats.\u201d
\nDespite being outside the organization, Ukraine has developed extensive military ties with NATO. The bloc says its members provide the overwhelming majority of military assistance received by Kiev and has pledged to continue support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The bloc\u2019s top military body has convened in Ukraine for the first time in eight years despite it not being a member The NATO Military Committee, the bloc\u2019s highest military…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39486,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t