NATO to give 'path' for Ukraine to join, but no 'timetable:' White House

NATO will lay out a path of reforms for Ukraine to eventually join the alliance, but without giving a "timetable," White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Tuesday.

A "reform path for Ukraine" will be drawn up, but "I can't put a timetable on it," Sullivan told reporters at the NATO summit in Vilnius, also announcing that President Joe Biden will meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday.

Sullivan ruled out any immediate entry for Western-backed Ukraine, given its ongoing war against Russian invasion, saying this would "bring NATO into a war with Russia."

Citing "a lot of goodwill" for Ukraine's ambition at the summit in Vilnius, Sullivan said, "The question is, what's the pathway?"

"I think we can come to a good understanding," he said.

Separate from the issue of membership, NATO countries are discussing concrete interim security measures to offer Ukraine beyond the current aid pouring in to help Kyiv's military push back the Russians.

Sullivan said this would be discussed during a meeting Wednesday between Biden and Zelensky.

(AFP)