(Bloomberg) — Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis stated he opposes NATO membership for Ukraine, saying he doesn’t assume it’s within the US’s safety curiosity.
Most Learn from Bloomberg
“I don’t assume NATO membership is in our curiosity, to me,” DeSantis stated on The Glenn Beck Program podcast. “All that will do was add extra obligations to us, so in the event you’re including extra obligations, then what are advantages that we’re getting in return?”
DeSantis additionally reiterated within the episode that he doesn’t imagine the US ought to give a “clean examine” to Ukraine until it’s utilizing leverage to deliver the battle to a conclusion.
The episode was launched two days after President Joe Biden met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who made an attraction for US lawmakers to proceed supporting the nation’s navy because it fights Russia’s invasion. The administration introduced a navy help package deal, whereas additionally agreeing to offer a small variety of ATACMS missiles, a long-sought after weapon by Ukrainians, regardless of preliminary reluctance from Biden.
Nonetheless, future rounds of support will must be authorised by Congress after current appropriations run out on the finish of the month. A small, influential bloc of US Home Republicans have criticized the thought of continued help, saying that the nation ought to give attention to implementing the US border.
Although the White Home has vowed to combat for extra warfare support, Biden stated he doesn’t assume now could be the suitable time for Ukraine to affix NATO. “I don’t assume there may be unanimity in NATO about whether or not or to not deliver Ukraine into the NATO household now, at this second, in the midst of a warfare,” Biden stated in a July CNN interview.
The Florida governor obtained criticism earlier this yr from high Republican lawmakers after referring to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a “territorial dispute.”
Most Learn from Bloomberg Businessweek
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.