US Senator Lindsey Graham has proposed a conditional path for Ukraine's accession to NATO, assuming automatic accession in the event of a new Russian invasion. He said this during the Munich Security Conference, reports UNN with reference to Politico.
“If you can't accept them into NATO right now, my idea with (former British Prime Minister - ed.) Boris Johnson is to make it clear: tell Putin that if you do this again, if Russia invades Ukraine again, it will lead to Ukraine's automatic acceptance into NATO,” Graham said.
He also said that the US should continue to supply weapons to Ukraine. “We need to continue to build up the capacity of the Ukrainian military. Arm them to the teeth, give them a bunch of F-16s,” the senator said.
Graham, one of President Donald Trump's top allies, was also asked to weigh in on the controversial statements by Defense Secretary Pete Hagel and Vice President J.D. Vance this week about whether Ukraine should join NATO.
“It doesn't matter what Pete says, it doesn't matter how many phone calls have been made,” Graham said, adding: “What matters is where it ends up, if it ends up deterring future aggression and if they stabilize the European continent, then (Trump - ed.) will get his share of the credit.
Graham also expressed confidence in Trump's ability to negotiate with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, calling Putin a “thug and a bully” who “gets away with whatever he can until someone stops him.
He warned that if Trump offers what he considers to be a reasonable deal and Putin rejects it, “he will have made a serious mistake.