German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, before the summer NATO summit in Vilnius, told US President Joe Biden during a telephone conversation that he was categorically against directly inviting Ukraine into the alliance following the summit and was skeptical about providing it with special conditions for joining, the New Yorker magazine reported on Monday with reference to to four sources.
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“Scholz… made it clear that he was categorically against a communiqué that would include a specific “invitation” for Ukraine to join NATO,” the publication says.
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According to the magazine, such a position by Scholz could “derail” all negotiations on the content of the final communiqué of the NATO summit in Vilnius.
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According to unnamed sources, Scholz also made it clear to Biden that he was skeptical about lifting the conditions for Ukraine to fulfill the action plan for NATO membership, but Biden did not support his position, since by that time he had already agreed to this.
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The bloc’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said following the NATO summit in Vilnius, which took place on July 11-12, that Ukraine can join the alliance without the need to implement an action plan for membership in the organization.
