Watch the full interview with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at 6:00 p.m. ET on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.
CNN –
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told CNN on Thursday that he had “no doubt” that Ukraine would become part of NATO once Russia’s war against the country ended.
“I have no doubt that’s going to happen, and we’ve heard almost every country in the room say it,” Austin said in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in Vilnius, Lithuania, after a two-day summit centered around the issue stood when Kiev would join the alliance.
“I think that was reassuring [Ukrainian President] Volodymyr Zelensky, there are other things that should happen such as judicial reform and things to ensure democracy is in good shape,” Austin added.
The NATO summit in Vilnius began with tense exchanges between Kyiv and the West over the lack of a timetable for Ukraine’s entry into the alliance, but ended on Wednesday with a barrage of solidarity and security guarantees from Western leaders that Ukraine’s future at military block lie.
Asked by Blitzer how close Ukraine is to meeting NATO standards, Austin said there was “a lot of work to do.”
“There’s still a lot of work to be done in terms of training and equipment,” Austin said. “But we’re doing this work now while they’re fighting this war, and since everything has been done so far, more needs to be done to ensure they have the full range of capabilities.”
US President Joe Biden had previously stressed that Ukraine was not ready to join NATO, telling CNN in an exclusive interview last week that Russia’s war in Ukraine must end before the alliance could consider accepting Kiev into its ranks .
Biden conceded at the summit that the alliance did not invite Ukraine to join because it was working on “necessary reforms.” But Biden added that “we are not waiting for this process to be completed” to increase the country’s security.
During the interview, Austin also defended the controversial US decision to support Ukraine with cluster munitions despite the threat to innocent civilians.
“First of all, I think we should remember that they are fighting hard to defend their sovereign territory,” Austin told Blitzer.
“You know, they don’t require the munitions to go into another, another country like the Russians did, they used cluster munitions from the start.”
Austin went on to say that the Ukrainians had “written commitments” to ensure that these munitions would only be used in the “appropriate places” and not in populated areas.
“They will record the locations where they use them and they will prioritize demining efforts,” he said.
“And we will help them, where they have given us the conditions to do so.”
When asked by Blitzer how long it would take the US to get Ukraine cluster bombs ready, Austin said he wanted to make sure “Ukraine can remain successful in their fight” so he wouldn’t “speculate how long that would take.” will take”.
“Our focus will remain on making sure they have everything they need to continue supporting their maneuver,” Austin said.
During his CNN interview, Austin also stressed that the US “does not seek a contentious relationship with China.”
“We made contact on several levels. It’s really important that countries with our capabilities are able to talk to each other so that we can manage those relationships,” Austin said.
“We do not seek a contentious relationship with China. Our relationship is competitive… As we continue to sail the international seas and fly the international skies, we want to make sure everyone gets things done safely. We do things in a secure and authorized way.”