Editor’s Note: The following are excerpts from a press briefing by White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Sept. 1, 2021, in the White House.
Q: President Zelenskyy said in the Oval Office today that he was eager to hear President Biden’s vision for Ukraine’s chances of joining NATO, and he also said he’d like a timeframe for that. What is President Biden’s vision right now? And does he have a timeframe?
MS. PSAKI: Well, I think it’s important for people to understand — not you, necessarily, but everyone out there — that this is not a decision that the United States makes, right? We continue to support and we continue to call for ensuring that NATO’s door remains open to aspirants when they’re ready and able to meet the commitments and obligations of membership and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area.
This is NATO membership, right? And we reaffirmed and our Allies reaffirmed in the June 2021 NATO Summit communiqué that we support Ukraine’s right to decide its own future foreign policy, of course free from outside interference, including with respect to Ukraine’s aspirations to join NATO.
There are steps that Ukraine needs to take; they’re very familiar with these: efforts to advance rule of law reforms, modernize its defense sector, and expand economic growth. Those are steps that aspirant countries like Ukraine need to take in order to meet NATO standards for memberships. And we certainly support their efforts to continue to do that.
