This photo taken on April 4, 2024 shows a wreath-laying ceremony at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. NATO marked the 75th anniversary since the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on Thursday. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)
NATO chief Mark Rutte emphasized that there was never a promise to Ukraine to include NATO membership in any peace deal.
BRUSSELS, April 4 (Xinhua) — NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte clarified here on Friday that Ukraine’s potential NATO membership will not be included as part of any peace agreement.
Speaking at a press conference following a NATO foreign ministers meeting, Rutte reaffirmed that member states had agreed at last year’s Washington summit that Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance is “irreversible.” However, he emphasized that there was never a promise to Ukraine to include NATO membership in any peace deal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (on the screen) addresses the EU summit via video link, in Brussels, Belgium, on March 20, 2025. Zelensky on Thursday urged European Union leaders to promptly approve a package of at least 5 billion euros (5.45 billion U.S. dollars) for artillery shells. (European Union/Handout via Xinhua)
The two-day meeting also saw concerns raised over sweeping new U.S. tariffs announced by President Donald Trump. Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide warned on Thursday that such tariffs could contradict NATO’s founding principles. He suggested that economic measures undermining trade among NATO allies risk weakening the alliance as a whole. ■