Joe Biden has ruled out Ukraine joining Nato in the aftermath of a ceasefire with Russia in a major blow to Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ahead of Nato’s annual summit on July 9, the US president said Ukraine would have to rely on supplies of Western weapons to ward off a second Russian offensive.
Peace, he said, “doesn’t mean Nato.”
“It means we have a relationship with them like we do with other countries, where we supply weapons so they can defend themselves in future,” he told Time magazine.
Mr Zelensky has pushed for Ukraine to be granted swift entry to Nato after the war is over, arguing Vladimir Putin is likely to stage another invasion before long.
Membership of the alliance would compel the US and western nations to come to the defence of Ukraine in the event of any Russian attack, under Article 5 of the Nato treaty.