NATO Allies Hesitant to Invite Ukraine to Join Alliance as Kiev 'Too Corrupt,' Reports Reveal
09:15 03.07.2024 (Updated: 09:16 03.07.2024)
© AP Photo / Armando Babani
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Ukraine will be told at the NATO summit in Washington next week that it is "too corrupt" to join the alliance, The Telegraph has reported, citing a senior US State Department official.
At the summit, which is scheduled to take place in the capital of the United States from July 9-11, NATO allies will request "additional steps" from Kiev to address corruption before membership talks, the newspaper reported on Wednesday. This position will be set out in writing in the NATO communique, which will be signed at the summit on July 9, the official told the newspaper.
"We have to step back and applaud everything that Ukraine has done in the name of reforms over the last two-plus years. As they continue to make those reforms, we want to commend them, we want to talk about additional steps that need to be taken, particularly in the area of anti-corruption. It is a priority for many of us around the table," the official said.
In late September 2022, Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine was applying for fast-track NATO membership. According to reports citing US and European sources familiar with the matter, the US and its allies have yet to reach a consensus on how strongly they are going to commit to Ukraine's NATO membership during the summit.
Earlier in June, 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.
