Biden Mulls Bypassing Traditional Path For Ukraine's NATO Entry: Politico

President Joe Biden is considering a proposal to fast-track Ukraine’s NATO membership, bypassing the traditional Membership Action Plan (MAP), Politico reports.

Fast-Tracking Membership: The proposal comes as Ukraine’s military has quickly modernized to NATO standards, despite some democratic reforms being delayed due to the ongoing war. The MAP issue has become “toxic” for some NATO members who support Ukraine’s quick admission into the alliance, due to the varying standards applied to different prospective members.

Comparisons With Other Nations: Finland, NATO’s most recent member, was allowed to join this year without a MAP in place. Sweden is awaiting approval to join under the same conditions. Kurt Volker, the U.S. special representative for Ukraine during the Trump administration, stated that Ukraine is as prepared, from a military point of view, as Finland and Sweden.

Future Prospects: Volker suggested that NATO should add a “political chapeau” to its proposal, indicating the alliance’s belief that Ukraine will eventually become a member state. One European diplomat argued that pulling Ukraine under the NATO umbrella is “the only logical solution” and that clear-cut NATO security guarantees must be provided to Ukraine for the future of European security.

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