Nawrocki rules out Ukraine joining NATO during war, says EU membership premature - media
Polish President Karol Nawrocki has said in an interview with Lithuanian National Radio and Television (LRT) that Ukraine, as a state at war, cannot join NATO at the moment, and that discussing its membership in the European Union is premature.
"I believe that a country at war cannot join NATO, because that would mean that Poland and Lithuania would also be at war, so this discussion should be postponed - it is simply impossible," he said.
Regarding Ukraine's membership in the EU, Nawrocki stressed that the processes of countries joining the union lasted for years and required taking into account economic and other factors. "Of course, I believe that Ukraine should become part of civilization in the future, if we are talking about Western or Latin civilization. However, today the discussion about Ukraine's membership in the EU is premature," Nawrocki noted.
At the same time, he emphasized that Poland continues to support Ukraine during the war: the country provided significant military assistance and took in over a million Ukrainians.
Commenting on the threat from Russia, Nawrocki noted that, regardless of the change of political regimes, the Russian Federation practically does not change. "Russia, regardless of the change of political regimes - the tsar, the Bolsheviks or Putin - practically does not change. Psychological mechanisms, the desire to influence neighbors remain the same," he emphasized.
At the same time, the president added that modern Russia retains "the gene of aggression towards neighboring countries," and the war in Ukraine confirms this, noting Putin's nostalgia for the Soviet empire as a serious threat to regional and global security.