Poland’s defense minister says Ukraine should not expect NATO entry anytime soon

​​​​​WARSAW

Ukraine should not expect NATO membership anytime soon, Poland’s Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said Wednesday in Brussels.

“Ukraine has not yet received an invitation to NATO and I think that after the statement of the US side, there will be no such invitation. There is no point in hoping that it will suddenly fall from the sky,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said meeting in Brussels with the Contact Group for the Defense of Ukraine at NATO headquarters.

The new head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, said Ukraine's membership in NATO was "unrealistic." US President Donald Trump does not foresee it as part of a potential peace plan, he said.

Kosiniak-Kamysz noted that Ukraine's membership had previously been opposed by others in the alliance.

“That is why I think it is good that this statement was made by the US because now the situation is clear,” he said, adding that Poland does not plan to send troops to Ukraine.

Asked about security issues in Europe after the change of power in Washington, he said that "the Americans are not going anywhere from Europe."

Kosiniak-Kamysz also said that all NATO countries must bear appropriate defense expenditures.

"If it is realistic for Poland, why should it be unrealistic for other countries?" Kosiniak-Kamysz asked rhetorically about spending in relation to GDP. Poland is aiming for 4% of GDP spending on defense, ranking it as one of the highest in the alliance.