“Ukraine’s NATO membership is not currently under consideration,” Rutte said

Ukraine’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is not currently under consideration.

This was stated by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at a press conference in Brussels.

In response to a question from Deutsche Welle about whether Ukraine’s deeper involvement in NATO military processes amounts to its de facto inclusion in the alliance’s defense system without formal membership, Rutte avoided giving a precise definition:

“I would not like to give that any clear definition.”

At the same time, he recalled that Ukraine “has a path to NATO,” but acknowledged that membership “is not under consideration at the moment.”

“There is a path for Ukraine to NATO, agreed at the 2024 summit. This path will take time, because some allies do not yet support membership. Therefore, it is not on the agenda right now. Instead, we are working on security guarantees after a ceasefire or a peace agreement,” Rutte said.

The secretary general also stressed that NATO does not consider itself a party to the conflict in Ukraine.

Earlier, Rutte had said that the North Atlantic Alliance would not take part in a war against Iran, but was coordinating its actions with the United States.