By Daniel DePetris
Josh Rogin was right in his Feb. 25 op-ed, “Kyiv wants to know if NATO still wants them,” that the United States and its NATO allies have been waiting far too long to decide whether Ukraine should be a member in the alliance. It’s past time for Washington to give the Ukrainians an answer: Thanks, but no thanks.
The conventional wisdom holds that Ukraine’s long-term security is best accomplished by bringing Kyiv under the NATO umbrella. But this is wrong for a number of reasons. First, it would likely lengthen the duration of the war, not shorten it. Even the faint prospects of a negotiated settlement would evaporate if the Ukrainians were given the option to join. Russian President Vladimir Putin would have no incentive whatsoever to stop waging war, let alone negotiate peace, if he knew Ukraine would become a NATO member at the end of the conflict.
This piece was originally published in The Washington Post on March 4, 2024. Read more HERE.