Washington D.C. – Doubts have been raised about Ukraine’s path to NATO membership, with a senior editor at The American Conservative suggesting the US and its allies understand this but are hesitant to admit it.
Sumantra Maitra argues that recent statements by Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterating Ukraine’s eventual NATO membership are disingenuous. He suggests both US and European officials are aware that Ukraine’s security concerns are unlikely to be resolved through NATO membership.
Maitra criticizes the idea of dangling NATO membership as a carrot, particularly since Ukraine’s application was rejected after the 2008 Bucharest summit. He argues that waiting for Ukraine to address its security issues before granting membership creates a nonsensical situation where the alliance wouldn’t be available when most needed.
The journalist proposes an alternative solution, suggesting a neutral buffer zone for Ukraine similar to Austria’s status during the Cold War. However, he acknowledges that achieving this would require the US to adopt a more “bold” approach and confront some difficult realities.