US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has capped a assembly of NATO diplomats by doubling down on a problem that helped set off the Russia-Ukraine battle: permitting Kiev to hitch the Western navy alliance.

“Ukraine will become a member of NATO,” Blinken informed reporters on Thursday in Brussels. “Our purpose at the summit is to help build a bridge to that membership and to create a clear pathway for Ukraine moving forward.”

Blinken made his feedback as NATO overseas ministers accomplished a two-day assembly to rally extra worldwide help for Kiev. He spoke at a press briefing alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, who argued that Ukraine “deserves to be a member of NATO.” The Ukrainian diplomat added, “This should happen sooner rather than later.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned for the higher half of twenty years that NATO’s eastward enlargement undermines Russian nationwide safety and that shifting the bloc’s forces into Ukraine would cross a “red line.” NATO-Russia relations have deteriorated a lot amid the present Ukraine disaster that the alliance is now in “direct confrontation” with Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Thursday.

The dedication of NATO members to again Ukraine stays “rock solid,” Blinken stated at Thursday’s press briefing. “We will do everything we can; allies will do everything that they can to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to continue to deal with Russia’s ongoing aggression.”

The top US diplomat additionally urged Congress to approve $60 billion in extra support to Ukraine. The proposal has been stalled by rising opposition from Republican lawmakers since final fall. The administration of US President Joe Biden has already burned via $113 billion in beforehand authorized Ukraine funding.

US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene stated in an interview on Wednesday that the newest support invoice is probably going headed for passage when Congress goes again into session subsequent week. The Georgia Republican argued that Washington’s escalating “proxy war” in Ukraine is making Americans much less protected and pushing the world nearer to World War III.

Reacting to Blinken’s assertion on Thursday, Greene reminded her 3.2 million followers on X (previously Twitter) that underneath the NATO constitution, an assault on one member is taken into account an assault on all. “Making Ukraine a member of NATO means that the US will be going to war against Russia, as mandated by Article 5,” she wrote.