Ukraine urges NATO invitation before Biden's term ends

Ukraine is asking for a NATO membership invitation before Joe Biden leaves the White House, arguing it would be a fitting legacy for the United States president, a senior Ukrainian diplomat said.

"Our idea is that giving Ukraine (an) invitation at this moment is a political signal," Nataliia Galibarenko, Kiev's ambassador to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, told Reuters.

"We sincerely believe that it can be part of the legacy of (the) current American administration," she said in an interview at the Ukrainian mission to NATO, opposite the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.

Next month's US presidential election creates major uncertainty for Ukraine as Washington has been Kiev's biggest provider of military aid against Russia.

While Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris has signalled continuing support for Ukraine, she has not spelt out the level of that support. Republican ex-President Donald Trump has not been clear about how he would handle the war.

Being in NATO would make Ukraine part of the US-led military alliance's mutual defence pact, which means an attack on one member is considered an attack on all, although the accession process can take years of adapting to NATO standards.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made clear in recent weeks that he sees an early NATO invitation as part of his "victory plan".

In the interview, Galibarenko elaborated on the rationale for Kiev's push. She argued an invitation would remove a major bone of contention between Kiev and Moscow.

Urgent membership

Moscow has cited Ukraine's potential membership of NATO to justify the war while Ukraine has insisted it needs to join the alliance to protect against any future Russian aggression.

"If we will say that the invitation is there, for the Russian Federation, it would be like a final verdict – so that's it, so you cannot raise the stakes using this topic anymore," Galibarenko said in an interview.

NATO has declared Ukraine will join its ranks and its path to the alliance is irreversible. But it has said Kiev cannot join while at war and declined to put a timeline on membership.

Most NATO members, including its predominant power, the United States, have shown no willingness to extend a membership invitation to Ukraine at this stage.

A senior US government official, briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, said last week that there has been no shift in Washington’s position.

Galibarenko said Kiev is not pushing for an immediate launch of membership talks but a formal invitation now would send a powerful message.

Asked when Ukraine would like the invitation to be issued, she replied: "The sooner the better."