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NATO and by that we mean the United States has always been in ambiguous and uncommitted relationships with countries. Their communication is very subtle and su
by alephnan 5y ago
NATO and by that we mean the United States has always been in ambiguous and uncommitted relationships with countries.
Their communication is very subtle and succinct.
It’s the same with Taiwan. They do not deny China’s claim to Taiwan, but that is logically not equivalent to saying they accept China’s claim to Taiwan. They use language that is convenient for the politicians of those countries to appease their constituents while maintaining the status quo and pushing the can down the road.
Biden said he agreed in principle to meet if Putin has not already invaded Ukraine. That’s a weirdly structured sentence if you think about it. In plain English, the sentence seem logically equivalent to “only if”, but if we are focused on pure logic, then Biden can still meet Russia despite Russia having invaded.
- rlt 5y agoIs it subtle? Wikipedia says Ukraine was in the “Intensified Dialog” phase which apparently means they are engaged in ‘discussion of a "full range of political, military, financial and security issues relating to possible NATO membership“‘ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlargement_of_NATO#Intensified_Dialogue https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlargement_of_NATO#Intensif...
- alephnan 5y agoSo is it bureaucracy holdup or a matter of negotiations?
- dgellow 5y agoNegotiations, but mostly one sided. Country bordering Russia such as Ukraine have been invaded in the past during USSR time and are in fear of being invaded again (for good reasons as we all know now). They want to be part of an alliance like NATO to protect themselves, thus start the negotiation process. But NATO is aware that would be seen by Russia as a red-line to not cross, Putin has been more than clear on this topic for a while, threatening to use nukes multiple time during the last 15years or so. Because of this NATO communicated quite clearly that Ukraine won’t be able to join any time soon, which means never, but keeps negotiations open.
- imnotlost 5y agoI think economics is a major hurdle for Ukrainian EU membership. Their GDP/capita is less than $4,000. EU average is 8x that. I'm sure there are many other issues as well.