Norway stated today, Wednesday, that "NATO will not allow Russia to dictate when Ukraine can join the alliance." Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt told reporters, "It is up to Ukraine and NATO members to decide when Ukraine joins the alliance, and it is not up to Moscow."
The alliance has not agreed to Ukraine's request for fast-track membership, as Western governments like the United States and Germany fear any further steps could bring the alliance closer to war with Russia.
Norway is hosting a meeting of NATO foreign ministers aimed at bridging perspectives on Ukraine's membership request ahead of a scheduled summit in July.
Ukraine and some of its close allies in Eastern Europe want to agree on concrete steps that bring Ukraine closer to membership when the NATO leaders' summit takes place on July 11 and 12 in Lithuania.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg previously stated that "Ukraine will not be able to join the alliance while the war with Russia is ongoing," asserting that "the situation will be different when the conflict ends."
