NATO: Ukraine will ‘no doubt’ join alliance when war with Russia ends, US defense secretary tells CNN

Watch the total interview with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at 6 p.m. ET on “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.”

CNN
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US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin instructed CNN on Thursday he has “no doubt” that Ukraine will grow to be a part of NATO after Russia’s war towards the nation ends.

“I have no doubt that will happen, and we heard just about every country in the room say as much,” Austin mentioned in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in Vilnius, Lithuania, following a two-day summit that was dominated by the query of when Kyiv would join the alliance.

“I think that was reassuring to [Ukrainian President] Volodymyr Zelensky, there are other things that should happen, like judicial reform and things that make sure that the democracy is in good shape,” Austin added.

NATO’s summit in Vilnius started with tense exchanges between Kyiv and the West over the shortage of a timeline for Ukraine’s entry to the alliance, however ended Wednesday with a flurry of solidarity and security guarantees from Western leaders that Ukraine’s future is with the navy bloc.

When requested by Blitzer how shut Ukraine have been to assembly NATO requirements, Austin mentioned that there was “still work to be done.”

“In terms of training and equipping, there is still work to be done,” Austin mentioned. “But we are doing this work now as they fight this war and so things have been done up to this point there is more that will need to be done to ensure that they have a full complement of capabilities.”

US President Joe Biden had beforehand emphasised that Ukraine just isn’t able to enter NATO, telling CNN in an exclusive interview final week that Russia’s war in Ukraine wants to finish earlier than the alliance can take into account including Kyiv to its ranks.

Biden acknowledged on the summit that the alliance didn’t invite Ukraine to membership as it really works on “necessary reforms.” But Biden added that “we’re not waiting on that process to be finished” to spice up the nation’s safety.

During the interview, Austin additionally defended the US’ controversial resolution to help Ukraine with cluster munitions regardless of the danger to harmless civilians.

“First of all, I think we should remember that they are fighting hard to defend their sovereign territory,” Austin instructed Blitzer.

“You know, they’re not asking for the munitions to go invade another, another country, as the Russians did, they’ve been using cluster munitions from the very beginning.”

Austin continued to say that Ukrainians have dedicated “in writing” to make it possible for these munitions are used solely within the “appropriate places,” and never utilized in populated areas.

“They will record the places that they use them and they will prioritize de-mining efforts,” he mentioned.

“And we will help them do that, in those places where they gave us the conditions.”

When requested by Blitzer how lengthy the US would wish to supply cluster bombs to Ukraine, Austin mentioned that he desires to verify “Ukraine can remain successful in their fight” so he wouldn’t “speculate how long that’s going to take.”

“We’re going stay focused on making sure that they have what they need to continue to provide the support for their maneuver,” Austin mentioned.

During his CNN interview, Austin additionally emphasised that the US “don’t search a contentious relationship with China.”

“We have reached out at multiple levels. It’s really important for countries with our kinds of capabilities are able to talk to each other so that we can manage these relationships,” Austin mentioned.

“We don’t seek a contentious relationship with China. Our relationship is one of competition … As we continue to sail the international seas and fly the international skies, we want to make sure that everyone is doing things in a safe manner. We certainly are doing things in a safe and authorized manner.”