US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss Ukraine’s potential NATO membership. The meeting took place in Washington, just ahead of a critical NATO summit scheduled for the US capital next week. Ukraine hopes to leverage the summit to gain stronger assurances from the alliance regarding its membership aspirations. Blinken has publicly stated that Ukraine will eventually become a NATO member, emphasizing that the upcoming summit will play a key role in bridging the path towards that outcome.
During their meeting, Blinken and Yermak delved into various topics, including the impending NATO summit in Washington and the commitment of allied nations to draw Ukraine closer to NATO membership. They also discussed the importance of bolstering Ukraine’s defensive capabilities against Russian aggression. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel, addressing reporters at a regular press briefing, highlighted the focus on assisting Ukraine in strengthening its defense mechanisms.
The meeting also touched upon the ongoing efforts by the G7 group of nations to enhance the resilience of Ukraine’s energy grid. This focus on energy security comes in response to the repeated Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in recent months. The discussions between Blinken and Yermak underscore the international community’s dedication to supporting Ukraine in the face of ongoing conflict and the enduring threat posed by Russia’s military actions. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, igniting the most significant armed conflict in Europe since World War Two.
