The United States views the bilateral security agreement signed by President Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of a bridge to Ukraine's membership in NATO, so that Ukraine can one day join the Alliance. This was stated by State Department spokesman Vedant Patel at a briefing, commenting on President Zelenskyy's words that the White House is not ready to invite Ukraine to NATO, UNN reports.
Details
The State Department representative pointed out that the signed bilateral agreement between the United States and Ukraine reaffirms the United States' commitment to the people of Ukraine. According to him, the obligations set forth in the agreement are crucial to ensuring Ukraine's security in the democratic, economic, and military sense.
The secretary of state and the president have said that we believe it is important to have a bridge to NATO membership for Ukraine. Of course, this bilateral security agreement does not replace it, but it is one of those things that we see as part of that bridge so that one day Ukraine can join NATO. We have long said that we support and reaffirm NATO's open door policy
He also indicated that the United States has no problem holding Russia accountable. And since the brutal invasion of Ukraine, the United States has taken a number of steps, ranging from export controls to sanctions, to hold Russia accountable.
Context
In an interview, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the White House is not ready to give Ukraine an invitation to join NATO. Therefore, Kyiv calls on the US to provide Ukraine with everything for protection and specifics.