Berlin says countries at war cannot be accepted into NATO
NATO's doors remain open to new members, but a country cannot join the alliance while it is in the midst of a war, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in Oslo on Thursday, according to Reuters.
"NATO's open door policy remains in place, but at the same time it is clear that we cannot talk about accepting new members (who are) in the middle of a war," she told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of heads of diplomats from member states.
For her part, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said the Alliance needed to think about what kind of security guarantees it could offer Ukraine. Also attending the two-day meeting in Oslo, Estonian minister Margus Tsahkna said Ukraine should be offered a 'very clear path' to NATO membership.
"We must have a very credible path for Ukraine to become a NATO member," Finland's foreign minister Pekka Haavisto also pleaded, reports Agerpres, citing Reuters. Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that all NATO allies agree that "Ukraine will become a member of the alliance" and that "it is not Moscow's job to have a veto against NATO enlargement".
