Macron says Germany, US are chief opponents of Ukraine's NATO accession.

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Germany and the U.S. are the two main countries opposed to Ukraine joining NATO, French President Emmanuel Macron said on July 9, as cited by the DPA news agency. Macron's comments came as the NATO summit, marking the 75th anniversary of the alliance, was set to begin in Washington, D.C. There is "strong opposition" from the U.S. and Germany regarding Ukraine's goal of joining NATO, Macron said.

"In the end, it will be a decision by the allies to invite Ukraine to join NATO," he added. Kyiv did not receive the much-desired invitation nor a firm deadline to join the alliance during the 2023 NATO summit in Vilnius, even though NATO took steps to tighten cooperation. Ukraine has voiced hope that NATO's summit scheduled on July 9-11 will bring a more definite signal about its future membership in the alliance.

U.S. officials have made it clear that the country is unlikely to receive an invitation during the conference. Macron echoed the sentiment, saying that a repeat of Ukraine's frustration surrounding the Vilnius summit should be expected. "The Ukrainians were quite annoyed when they concluded that the door (to NATO) was open, but not that much.

And I think the scenario for the Washington summit is the same," Macron said. CNN reported on July 8, citing unnamed sources, that Ukraine's path to joining NATO will be defined as "irreversible" in a draft text of the alliance's joint communique at the summit. At the same time, U.S.

President Joe Biden said in June that peace in Ukraine means ensuring that Russia will never occupy its territory again, but added that "it doesn't mean NATO, (that Ukraine is) part of NATO." The Telegraph reported in May, also citing unnamed sources, that Germany may even be more skeptical about Ukraine's NATO prospects than the U.S.

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