Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not being shy about his dissatisfaction over his country currently being denied NATO membership, taking to social media to express his outrage.
Ukraine will be present at the NATO summit taking place Tuesday and Wednesday in Vilnius, Lithuania, but Zelenskyy lamented that the alliance continues to keep his country from joining.
"It’s unprecedented and absurd when [a] time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine's membership. While at the same time vague wording about ‘conditions’ is added even for inviting Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in a lengthy tweet Tuesday morning. He also said the international alliance was disrespecting his country and was subsequently "motivating" Russia in the process.
President Biden made it clear in a CNN interview that aired Sunday that he does not support Ukraine joining the alliance during its present war with Russia. Biden also noted certain issues with Ukraine's eligibility, such as a lack of democratization. While he said there should be "a rational path for Ukraine to be able to qualify to be able to get into NATO," he did not go into specifics.
Zelenskyy said the international alliance was "about respect" and that Ukraine "deserves respect" as it seeks membership. He also claimed that by not taking steps to include Ukraine, "a window of opportunity is being left to bargain Ukraine's membership in NATO in negotiations with Russia." This, he argued, provides Russia with "motivation to continue its terror."
CRITICAL NATO SUMMIT: BIDEN SAYS UKRAINE PATH UNLIKELY AS ZELENSKYY MAKES LAST-MINUTE BID
World leaders, including Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, however, have suggested Ukraine's joining NATO would prompt further aggression by Russia rather than serve as a deterrence.
In his CNN interview, Biden explained that allowing Ukraine in now would commit NATO to fighting against Russia.
"We’re determined to commit every inch of territory that is NATO territory. It’s a commitment that we’ve all made no matter what,"he said. "If the war is going on, then we’re all in war. We’re at war with Russia, if that were the case."
NATO recently accepted Finland as its 31st member and reached a deal Monday that would pave the way to making Sweden its 32nd.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The invasion crossed 500 days on Saturday, July 8, 2023.
Fox News’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.
