Not enough so far, Jean-Yves Le Drian said
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said that the conditions for Ukraine’s accession to NATO are not in place.
“I think that at the moment the conditions for Ukraine’s admission to NATO have not formed. They are not sufficient yet”, – he said in an interview with BFMTV on Friday.
Le Drian also declined to comment on statements by Marine Le Pen, leader of France’s Rassemblement National party, who has promised that if she wins the presidential election in 2022, France will leave the NATO unified command because it limits the country’s sovereignty.
“Marine Le Pen can say what she wants”, – Le Drian said.
Participants at the June 14 NATO summit noted in a final statement that Ukraine and Georgia could become members of the alliance in the future. However, the communiqué said nothing about a possible timeline for the admission of these countries to NATO, nor about the prospect of granting them membership action plans. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski has repeatedly stated in recent months that Kiev would like further movement on this issue. In particular, he believes it is time for Ukraine to receive a membership action plan for the alliance.
US President Joe Biden told a news conference in Brussels at the conclusion of the NATO summit that Ukraine must convince the North Atlantic Alliance that it deserves to become a member, taking all steps necessary for this, including stamping out corruption.