Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told his parliament while presenting his ‘victory plan’ on Wednesday that future membership in the NATO alliance is a central part of the plan.
The military bloc’s secretary general Mark Rutte, who recently took over after Stoltenberg’s term expired, responded in a generally positive manner to this, expressing that his vision is for Ukraine to eventually become a member; however, comments made ‘between the lines’ which were intended as a message caution are sure to disappoint Kiev.
Referencing the Washington-hosted summit of NATO leaders in July, Rutte said that “Ukraine will be a member of NATO in the future. That is what we decided in Washington.” He claimed that Ukraine’s path to NATO was deemed “irreversible”.
While many Western media headlines seized on this ‘path to membership’ aspect of his remarks, Rutte at one point admitted that another nation could be in line first.
He spelled …