UK foreign secretary: Focus on war now, Ukraine’s NATO bid later

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly cautioned on Wednesday that now is not the time for a concrete conversation on Ukraine’s NATO bid, as allies debate how to address Kyiv’s aspirations to join the military alliance.

In an interview with POLITICO, Cleverly acknowledged NATO’s commitment — made during a 2008 summit in Bucharest — that Ukraine will ultimately join the alliance. But echoing a view popular in western capitals, he argued that this is a discussion for a later stage.

“Obviously, there is long-standing commitments to providing Ukraine with a path to NATO membership,” he said following a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. But, the foreign secretary added, “the priority of course, at the moment, is about their self-defense in the here and now.” Focus T Shirt

Cleverly’s remarks come as Ukrainian officials have reiterated their calls in recent days for the country to move closer to NATO, eliciting mixed reactions from alliance leaders.