NATO chief says Ukraine's path to Alliance membership is irreversible

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has stated that the Alliance’s decision regarding Ukraine’s future membership remains unchanged, regardless of any political rhetoric.

Rutte asked not to conflate Ukraine’s membership aspirations with peace negotiations. He also emphasised that the decision taken at the NATO Summit in Washington remains valid.

"We decided in Washington that the path of Ukraine into NATO is irreversible … but it was never promised to Ukraine that NATO membership would be part of a peace deal," Rutte said to journalists following a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

At the Brussels meeting, NATO reiterated the irreversibility of Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance and that the decisions of the Washington Summit remain in force.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, speaking in Brussels, stated that Ukraine would not accept Russia’s demand that the country stay out of NATO.

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