NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg left the door open on the possibility of Ukraine’s entrance into the alliance, just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed the country was applying for rapid ascension into the partnership.
“Every democracy in Europe has the right to apply for NATO membership, and NATO allies respect that right, and we have stated again and again that NATO’s door remains open. And we have demonstrated that over the last years,” Stoltenberg said during a press conference on Friday, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to annex portions of Ukraine, an action that incurred additional U.S. sanctions and Western condemnation.
Stoltenberg, who called this the largest attempted annexation of territory since World War II, said Russia’s annexations make up approximately 15% of the country.
RUSSIAN ANNEXATION OF OCCUPIED UKRAINE A ‘DANGEROUS ESCALATION,’ UN CHIEF SAYS
Putin signed the accession agreements on Friday to annex the occupied regions of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, all of which recently concluded referendums on whether to join the Russian Federation, though Western leaders universally denounced them as fraudulent and illegitimate.
“People have made their choice, and it’s definitive choice,” Russia’s president said during the ceremony, claiming that an excess of 90% of residents in each of the regions that voted did so to join the Russian Federation. The “results have come through and the results are known,” he said.
Shortly thereafter, Zelensky revealed that he was pushing ahead with Ukraine’s application to join NATO on a rapid timeline.
“We are de facto allies,” he said in a statement. “This has already been achieved. De facto, we have already completed our path to NATO. De facto, we have already proven interoperability with the alliance’s standards, they are real for Ukraine — real on the battlefield and in all aspects of our interaction.”
The move will likely anger Putin, who has claimed that NATO expansion on its eastern flank is a threat to Russia and has used that claim as a justification for the war. Should NATO affirm Ukraine’s application, it could result in a significant escalation because it would bring NATO’s alliance directly into the heart of the conflict, which is a concern the West has had for months.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Biden administration announced new sanctions against top Russian officials and warned that it would target those aiding Moscow’s war effort. The sweeping measures from the departments of Treasury, Commerce, and State target Russian government leaders, military officials, and their family members, and the U.S. has warned that export controls can be applied to suppliers helping Russia’s military and industrial sectors.
“The United States condemns Russia’s fraudulent attempt today to annex sovereign Ukrainian territory,” President Joe Biden said in the statement. “Russia is violating international law, trampling on the United Nations Charter, and showing its contempt for peaceful nations everywhere.”
