Politician press for speedy NATO membership for Ukraine as Zelensky visits Germany

Emmanuel Thomas, DPA, Saturday, May 13, 2023

 

BERLIN – Ahead of a possible visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Germany this weekend, the chairman of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, Michael Roth, has pleaded for a clear prospect for Ukraine to join the NATO defence alliance.

“A clear signal must go out from the next NATO summit in Vilnius in July as to what Ukraine’s path towards reliable security guarantees with the goal of NATO membership can look like,” the Social Democratic (SPD) politician told Saturday’s edition of the Berlin-based newspaper Tagesspiegel.

“Our goal must be that Russia never again endangers or questions Ukraine’s security, independence and territorial integrity,” Roth said.

Zelensky is demanding a corresponding membership invitation from NATO. For the German government, such a step is not yet on the agenda.

According to a YouGov poll for dpa, a majority of 54% of citizens in Germany are also against it, while 27% are in favour.

In the same article, the foreign policy spokesman for the opposition conservative parliamentary group, Jürgen Hardt, called directly on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to make a commitment: “The chancellor should clearly advocate full membership for Ukraine as a prospect, but not create false expectations that this can be achieved quickly.”

Both politicians advocated intensifying cooperation in arms, training or manoeuvres on the way to membership.