Most NATO countries have a consensus on inviting Ukraine, but some have a reserved position. Ukraine will work to change their minds.
At the moment, France is showing strong support for Ukraine's invitation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters yesterday. There is also support from the UK and, in the president's opinion, Italy will agree.
"As for Germany's reaction, in our opinion, in general, the situation today mostly depends on the United States. We believe that they are consolidating their views on NATO and this has an impact on, for example, Hungary and Slovakia," he said.
The President expressed hope that after the US elections, Washington's response to Ukraine's invitation would be more positive: not because of a possible change of president, but because of a shift in focus from the domestic election issue. Zelenskyy suggests that the United States does not want to take any additional risks with the topic of NATO and Ukraine.
"As for Germany, we'll see. I think we will all have to work hard with the German side. But still, the United States will have an influence on this," he added.
Zelenskyy explained that he has a good relationship with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and appreciates Germany's contribution, as the country has provided the second largest amount of aid.
"But it is a fact that the German side is sceptical about our accession to NATO," he said.
Zelenskyy added that Germany's assessment has now softened.
"But as for the invitation I am telling you about now, they are afraid of the NATO-Germany topic, as far as the reaction of the Russian Federation is concerned. That's exactly right. That's why I believe that a larger alliance will have an impact on their opinion. A bigger alliance in terms of supporting us is a definite yes from the United States. That's what I mean," he said.
Context
Inviting Ukraine to join NATO is the first point of the Victory Plan that Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented to his main allies, including the United States, Germany, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom. He emphasised that he understood that Ukraine could not join until the end of the war, but believed that the country should receive the invitation now so that Russia would clearly understand the geopolitical place of the country it had attacked.
The countries are currently studying the Victory Plan, which has three secret annexes to its three points. In them, the Ukrainian authorities set out in detail a list of needs that need to be met to strengthen Kyiv's position.