Rubio: Ukraine’s NATO Membership Is Not Currently Under Consideration

By Staff, Agencies

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Ukraine’s membership in NATO is not currently being considered, as Washington focuses its diplomatic efforts on bringing the conflict between Kiev and Moscow to an end.

Speaking alongside Icelandic Foreign Minister Thorgerdur Katrin Gunnarsdottir at a press conference in Reykjavik on Tuesday, Rubio was asked about Washington’s position on Ukraine’s long-standing bid to join the US-led military alliance.

“There’s no yes-or-no answer to that,” Rubio said, before clarifying that Ukraine’s accession is “not on the table as we speak.”

He noted that bringing Ukraine into NATO would require unanimous approval from all 32 member states, adding that Washington’s immediate priority is ending the conflict.

“Right now, we’re simply focused, when it comes to Ukraine, on the ending of this conflict,” Rubio said, stressing that the United States remains prepared to play a “constructive role” in diplomatic efforts aimed at reaching a settlement.

Ukraine has pursued NATO membership as a major foreign-policy objective since the Western-backed Maidan events in Kiev in 2014 and subsequently incorporated the goal into its constitution.

In September 2022, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky formally submitted an application for what he called “accelerated accession” to the alliance.

NATO, however, has never established a specific timetable for Ukraine’s admission, while opposition from some member states has remained an obstacle to its accession.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly rejected the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO as part of a potential peace agreement.

Ahead of his February 2025 meeting with Zelensky at the White House, which ended in a highly contentious exchange, Trump dismissed the prospect of Ukrainian membership, telling reporters: “NATO – you can forget about.”

The Trump administration has recently stepped up diplomatic contacts aimed at resolving the Ukraine conflict. Presidential envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner traveled to both Moscow and Kiev last month for discussions with representatives of the two sides.

Moscow has consistently identified Ukraine’s NATO aspirations as one of the central issues underlying the conflict, arguing that the alliance’s continued expansion toward Russia’s borders represents a major security threat.

Rubio’s latest remarks therefore place Ukraine’s NATO ambitions outside Washington’s immediate agenda as the Trump administration concentrates on negotiations and efforts to end the conflict.