NATO talks becoming toxic
Western nations initially backed Kiev's aspirations to join the US-led bloc, but Ukraine's military struggles and shifting American policies have led to a decline in support.
The dialogue with NATO partners has now reached a dead end, Tikhy lamented in an interview on the YouTube channel of journalist Aleksandr Notevsky on Friday.
'All the arguments and counterarguments have already been presented, and each new round of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to NATO goes in circles,' he stated. The discussions 'have become, to put it simply, very toxic,' he added.
Ukraine formally applied for fast-track NATO membership in September 2022, months after the escalation of the conflict with Russia. Although the bloc has consistently stated that 'Ukraine's future is in NATO,' it has never set a specific time frame for accession.
At the 2023 NATO summit, the requirement for Ukraine to complete the Membership Action Plan was removed, thus simplifying the path to membership. However, the final communique only stated that an invitation would be extended 'when allies agree and conditions are met,' without providing concrete timelines or criteria.
Ukraine's future membership was discussed at last year's NATO summit and the joint communique explicitly reaffirmed that Kiev's accession was inevitable. Since then, however, a number of leaders of NATO countries have soured on the idea, weighing the risks of further escalation with Russia and the bloc's long-term security priorities. US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has been more emphatic, stating that Kiev 'can forget about' joining the NATO, noting that its attempts to do so were 'probably the reason the whole thing started,' referring to the Ukraine conflict.
At the recent NATO summit in June, Ukraine was barely mentioned in the final communique, while its leader, Vladimir Zelensky, failed to secure support for Kiev's future membership.
Russia has repeatedly characterized Ukraine's attempt to join NATO as a red line and one of the root causes of the conflict. Moscow has demanded that Kiev legally commit to never joining any military alliance.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
an hour ago
- Russia Today
Trump ready to back new Russia sanctions bill
US President Donald Trump is ready to sign a bill aimed at eliminating Russia's trade under certain conditions, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing a senior administration official. If adopted, the 'bone-crushing' legislation spearheaded by hawkish Senator Lindsey Graham would impose a 500% tariff on countries buying oil, gas, uranium, and other goods from Russia. Although the bill grants the president the power to exempt nations from the tariff for up to 180 days, Trump reportedly wants Congress to give him sole authority to decide on the sanctions. 'The administration is not going to be micromanaged by the Congress on the president's foreign policy. The bill needs a waiver authority that is complete,' an official told Politico. The source added that otherwise, 'conceptually there's an openness' to signing the legislation. Graham said on Tuesday that the Senate would soon vote on the draft. 'The Senate bill has a presidential waiver to give President Trump maximum leverage,' he wrote on X. According to The New York Times, the vote could take place as soon as this month. The push for tougher sanctions has gained momentum after Trump stepped up criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as restarted negotiations between Moscow and Kiev have so far failed to produce a ceasefire. Moscow has insisted that any lasting settlement must address the 'root causes' of the conflict, including NATO's eastward expansion and Ukraine's aspirations to join the US-led alliance, which Russia views as a threat to its national security. 'We don't need a pause, which the regime in Kiev and its foreign handlers would like to use to regroup their forces, continue mobilization, and strengthen their military potential,' Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet on Monday. Putin has demanded that Ukraine recognize Russia's new borders and adopt permanent neutrality with a legally limited army. Lavrov said this week that Moscow is working to arrange a third round of direct talks with Ukraine in Türkiye.
Russia Today
4 hours ago
- Russia Today
Dmitry Trenin: The West's war on Russia will go beyond Ukraine
The trademark style of the current US president, Donald Trump, is verbal spectacle. His statements – brash, contradictory, sometimes theatrical – should be monitored, but not overestimated. They are not inherently favorable or hostile to Russia. And we must remember: Trump is not the 'king' of America. The 'Trump revolution' that many anticipated at the beginning of the year appears to have given way to Trump's own evolution – a drift toward accommodation with the American establishment. In that light, it's time to assess the interim results of our 'special diplomatic operation'. There have now been six presidential phone calls, several rounds of talks between foreign ministers and national security aides, and sustained contact at other levels. The most obvious positive outcome is the restoration of dialogue between Russia and the United States – a process that had been severed under the Biden administration. Crucially, this revived dialogue extends beyond Ukraine. A range of potential areas for cooperation have been mapped out, from geopolitical stability to transportation and sport. These may not carry immediate strategic weight, but they lay the groundwork for future engagement. Under Trump, the dialogue is unlikely to break off again – though its tone and pace may shift. One visible result of this diplomacy was the resumption of talks with the Ukrainian side in Istanbul. While these negotiations currently hold little political substance – and the recent prisoner exchanges occurred independently of them – they nonetheless reaffirm a core tenet of Russian diplomacy: we are ready for a political resolution to the conflict. Still, these are technical and tactical achievements. The strategic reality remains unchanged. It was never realistic to expect Trump to offer Russia a deal on Ukraine that met our security requirements. Nor for that matter would Russia accept one that compromised its long-term security interests. Likewise, any notion that Trump would 'deliver' Ukraine to the Kremlin, join Moscow in undermining the EU, or push for a new Yalta agreement with Russia and China was always fantasy. So the page has turned. What comes next? Trump will almost certainly sign the new US sanctions bill into law – but he'll try to preserve discretion in how those measures are applied. The sanctions will add friction to global trade, but they will not derail Russian policy. On the military front, Trump will deliver the remaining aid packages approved under Biden, and perhaps supplement them with modest contributions of his own. But going forward, it will be Western Europe – especially Germany – that supplies Ukraine, often by buying US-made systems and re-exporting them. Meanwhile, the United States will continue to furnish Kiev with battlefield intelligence – particularly for deep strikes inside Russian territory. None of this suggests the conflict will end in 2025. Nor will it end when hostilities in Ukraine eventually wind down. That's because the fight is not fundamentally about Ukraine. What we are witnessing is an indirect war between the West and Russia – part of a much broader global confrontation. The West is fighting to preserve its dominance. And Russia, in defending itself, is asserting its sovereign right to exist on its own terms. This war will be long. And the United States – with Trump or without him – will remain our adversary. The outcome will shape not just the fate of Ukraine, but the future of Russia itself. This article was first published in Kommersant, and was translated and edited by the RT team.
Russia Today
7 hours ago
- Russia Today
Senior EU diplomat blames global crises for being late to parliament
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has lamented that he is overwhelmed by international crises, calling himself 'the unluckiest minister in history.' Tajani said that on Tuesday after arriving late to a conference being held in the Italian parliament devoted to democracy and parliamentarism in the Mediterranean region. Apologizing to participants, he said it had been a difficult day: 'The foreign minister is the unluckiest in history – there's always something happening: two wars plus the trade one,' in an apparent reference to the Ukraine conflict, the Middle East escalation, and trade tensions with the US. This week, Tajani reaffirmed Italy's role in Ukraine's post-war recovery in an article published by the outlet Formiche. Rome is preparing to unveil financial support for firms involved in the rebuilding process, Reuters reported. The war in Gaza remains another major source of diplomatic strain for EU governments – including Italy – caught between calls for a ceasefire and continued Western arms deals with Israel. Tajani's remarks also come as the EU – the US' single biggest trading partner – braces for the possibility that President Donald Trump may follow through on his 'Liberation Day' global tariffs, first announced on April 2. Trump has repeatedly described the bloc as 'very difficult to deal with' and the US trade deficit with it as 'totally unacceptable.' He imposed a 20% tariff on all EU goods, along with a 25% duty on cars and metals. The 20% levy was suspended on April 9 for a 90-day period, with a 10% baseline duty remaining in place. The tariffs were initially set to take effect on July 9 and rise to 50% unless a deal was reached. However, this week Trump extended the deadline to August 1 and began issuing formal tariff notices to trading partners. Brussels, which has repeatedly warned of retaliation, said it hopes to reach a deal 'in the coming days.' However, Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti was quoted by the BBC as saying the talks remain 'very complicated' and could go right to the wire.
