The partners of Ukraine consider its accession to NATO unlikely. NATO itself has called this issue secondary

Volodymyr Zelensky is “changing his rhetoric,” speaking about the willingness to end the war along the front lines in exchange for an invitation to NATO. However, an invitation to join the Alliance is currently unlikely, as officials in Washington, Berlin, and other capitals “are concerned that Ukraine’s closer alignment with NATO could escalate the West’s confrontation with Moscow.”

This was reported by The Wall Street Journal.

According to sources cited by the publication, Ukraine is urging the foreign ministers of NATO members, who are holding a summit today, to recommend that their leaders invite Ukraine to join the Alliance. At the same time, some Ukrainian officials admit that an alternative to NATO could be military support from allies, which Ukraine will need in the coming years to be able to deter Russia. One anonymous official stated that by 2025, Ukraine will need around $126 billion in military aid “to offset Russia’s rapidly growing military expenditures.”

Western officials have been discussing the possibility of reaching an agreement on a “security for territory” formula for over 18 months. The election of Donald Trump as U.S. president has only intensified these discussions. In Zelensky’s team, there is a “certain nervousness,” but Ukrainian officials “seem to be managing the need to adapt to the fact that Trump’s team is focused on ending the war.”

“At present, there is cautious optimism — if not confidence — in Brussels and Kyiv that the Trump administration will push the Kremlin for real concessions if Vladimir Putin agrees to negotiate,” writes WSJ.

However, many Western officials remain deeply skeptical that the Kremlin will sit at the negotiating table while Russia continues to gain ground on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that the issue of Ukraine’s membership is currently secondary, according to Financial Times.

“The most important thing right now is to ensure that when Zelensky decides to enter peace talks, he will be able to do so from a position of strength. For me, that’s the number one priority right now,” Rutte said.

He added that allies are constantly discussing the possibility of inviting Ukraine.

“But when they ask me, I always reply: Well, this is all great, and we need to have these debates, but in the near future, the most important thing is to provide Ukraine with military assistance, particularly air defense systems, as well as offensive systems necessary for conducting the war,” said the NATO Secretary General.

According to Reuters, NATO “is unlikely to heed Ukraine’s call for an invitation to join the Alliance” at today’s foreign ministers’ meeting.

The publication reports that “there are no signs of the necessary consensus” among the 32 NATO members, which “dashes Kyiv’s hopes for a political breakthrough.”

“It will take weeks and months to reach a consensus. I don’t think this will happen tomorrow, I’d be very surprised,” said a senior NATO diplomat.

A senior U.S. official stated that the meeting will focus on increasing support for Ukraine to ensure that it is in the strongest possible position “as it enters potential negotiations next year.”

“The best way to do this is to sharply increase funding, ammunition, and mobilization,” the official noted.

According to Le Monde, the U.S., Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Belgium, Slovenia, and Spain oppose inviting Ukraine to NATO, while France and the UK support it.

Joe Biden has refused to make such a decision before the end of his term, while Trump “has never supported this idea,” the newspaper writes.

It should be noted that last week, Ukraine requested NATO to officially invite it to the Alliance during the meeting taking place today.