Sébastien Le Belzic / Photo credit: JIM WATSON / POOL / AFP 09:02, July 10, 2023, modified at 09:03, July 10, 2023

The question of Ukraine's membership of NATO divides the members of the Atlantic alliance. For now, Joe Biden, who has been visiting Europe since Sunday night, refuses this idea. If the United States is ready to continue to help Kiev militarily, there is no question of integrating it. Will the Allies be able to agree?

On the eve of the NATO summit, the question of Ukraine's accession to the Atlantic Alliance divides the Allies. "She's not ready to be a part of it," Biden told CNN. The US president already has a foot in Europe since Sunday night. He arrived in London for a whirlwind visit and two talks with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and then King Charles III. A short stop before the NATO summit in Vilnius. Not sure President Joe Biden will change his mind about Ukraine in the meantime. Help it militarily, yes, integrate it no.

Green light for Ukraine's accession to NATO in July 2024?

Beyond the military aid provided to Kiev and in particular the delivery of cluster bombs and long-range American missiles, Joe Biden will have to validate the process of Ukraine's accession to NATO. Last month, the US president ruled out any preferential treatment. Nor had he given a timetable.

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But in Vilnius this week, he could give a new impetus to this procedure. About twenty NATO countries, including France, are already ready to vote in favour of Ukraine's membership, provided however that the White House gives its imprimatur. A voice that weighs since the United States finances two-thirds of the Alliance's budget.

But in Joe Biden's entourage, some are arguing for a green light only next year, at another NATO summit to be held in July in Washington. We will then be four months away from the American presidential election in which Joe Biden is a candidate.