Ukraine is calling for an invitation to join NATO before US President Joe Biden leaves the White House, arguing that it would be a worthy legacy for the American leader, Ukraine's top diplomat, Ambassador to NATO Natalia Galibarenko, told Reuters in an interview, UNN reports.
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"Our idea is that granting Ukraine (an invitation) now is a political signal," Ukraine's ambassador to NATO, Natalia Galibarenko, told Reuters.
"We sincerely believe that this can be part of the legacy of the current American administration," she said.
The publication notes that next month's US presidential election creates uncertainty for Ukraine. Although Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris has declared her continued support for Ukraine, she has not outlined the level of support. Former Republican President Donald Trump has not defined how he will treat the war, the newspaper writes.
As noted, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made it clear in recent weeks that he sees a swift invitation to NATO as part of his "victory plan.
In the interview, Galibarenko reportedly spoke in detail about the motives behind Ukraine's push. She claimed that the invitation would remove the bone of contention between Kyiv and Moscow, the newspaper noted.
"If we say that there is an invitation, it will be like a final verdict for the Russian Federation - so that's it, so you can't raise the stakes anymore using this topic," Galibarenko said in an interview on Tuesday.
NATO has said that Ukraine will join its ranks and that its path to the alliance is irreversible. But the Alliance said Ukraine could not join while it was at war and refused to set a timeline for membership, the newspaper noted.
"Most NATO members, including its dominant power, the United States, have not expressed a desire to extend an invitation to Ukraine for membership at this stage. A senior U.S. government official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, said last week that Washington's position has not changed," the newspaper writes.
Galibarenko said that Ukraine does not insist on the immediate start of membership talks, but an official invitation now would send a strong signal.
When asked when Ukraine would like to receive an invitation, she replied: "The sooner the better.