If Ukraine joins NATO now, the alliance could go to war with Russia. This is what BNR foreign commentator Bernard Hammelburg says in response to Joe Biden’s statement that Ukraine’s NATO membership is not on the cards right now. “Assuming Ukraine joins sooner rather than later, we’d be stuck with Article 5.”
Article 5
As long as there is war, NATO membership is out of the question, said Joe Biden on the eve of the Vilnius summit. According to Hammelburg, “he is increasingly taking into account the fact that something will come from the future split of a piece of eastern Ukraine”. The foreign commentator sketches a scenario where part of eastern Ukraine becomes Russian and the rest of Ukraine joins NATO. What then happens when a drone strike is launched from Russian-occupied territory? “Then this is immediately Article 5.”
So what happens when a drone strike is launched from Russian-occupied territory? Then this is immediately article 5′
And this means that the whole of NATO will go to war with Russia, Biden wants to prevent that coute que coute and he is absolutely right, according to Hammelburg, who points out that many NATO members are afraid. Incidentally, there are more objections to membership, and these have been going on for a long time, such as “corruption and failure to meet all kinds of characteristics necessary to become a member”.
Security guarantees
Poland and Italy have already expressed their support for security guarantees. According to Hammelburg, this includes a commitment to maintain that long-term support. Salient: The support base for this is dwindling. There will also be a NATO-Ukraine Council, just as there was a NATO-Russia Council. “That means Ukraine can just sit at the table when NATO is united.” It is possible that the EU, individual member states or just the US will provide security guarantees to Ukraine (read: support for weapons). In the latter case, the US would give Ukraine the same kind of status that Israel has (read: guaranteed arms support).
Interoperability
There is also talk of the so-called interoperability between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and NATO. This is risky, Hammelburg says. “You have to be careful with that, because the argument that NATO is really just fighting a war, as the Russians keep saying, is becoming more and more plausible.” Hammelburg therefore argues that NATO countries limit themselves to financial and material support. Even the latter is now becoming problematic, because both weapons and ammunition are running out. Both with the allies and with Ukraine itself.
According to Hammelburg, the latter is why the United States will supply cluster munitions to Ukraine: Ukraine is out of ammunition.
Domestically, Biden is becoming increasingly difficult to sell, Hammelburg thinks. Even in the democratic camp, more and more voices argue that such long-term aid cannot be granted. And this also makes a file less and less improbable. Hammelburg points out that Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov held secret talks with a number of prominent Americans in April. “He was about the long-term possibility of the truce.”
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Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
