Washington, June 20 (Agency) The United States and its allies have yet to reach a consensus on how strongly they are going to commit to Ukraine’s NATO membership during the alliance’s anniversary summit in July, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing US and European sources familiar with the matter.Some European countries, particularly those close to Russia’s border, are criticising the US for not being ready to go as far as they want, the report said. US and German officials have proposed that NATO promise that Ukraine has a “bridge” to NATO membership instead of an “irreversible path,” which some Eastern European countries insist on, it added. One senior US official emphasised that the White House doubted that the whole alliance and Hungary, in particular, would support the word “irreversible.” Another US official said that some NATO members are also reluctant to use the word because Ukraine has yet to implement all the necessary reforms, according to the report.
“Most Central European countries are disappointed by the Biden administration’s ambiguity and procrastination,” a Central European diplomat was quoted as saying in the report. Another European official pointed out that European allies have been directly lobbying the White House to make Ukraine’s pathway as clear as possible, according to the report. “We instinctively feel a new path should be laid out,” another official said. “Fast tracking [Ukraine’s membership] should be looked at,” the official was quoted in the report. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would immediately cease fire and begin negotiations with Ukraine after Kiev withdraws troops from the regions incorporated into Russia in 2022 and officially abandons plans to join NATO. The 75th NATO summit will take place from July 9–11 in Washington.