US President Joe Biden has cast doubt on Ukraine's chances of quickly joining Nato ahead of a major summit in Lithuania this week.
"I don’t think it’s ready for membership in Nato," he told CNN in an interview aired on Sunday, as he prepared to fly to London.
He said joining the bloc required countries to “meet all the qualifications, from democratisation to a whole range of other issues.”
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Nato's 31 member nations will meet in Vilnius amid high security as the war in Ukraine rages just a few hundred kilometres away.
While squabbling among Nato members is not uncommon, any signs of division in the current climate will be perceived as a weakness by Russia.
On Sunday, German diplomatic sources told the UK's Telegraph newspaper that they were prepared to block Volodymyr Zelenskyy's attempts to join amid fears it could drag the alliance into armed conflict with Russia.
A Nato source suggested German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his team would use the annual summit to press for a collective focus on security assurances, rather than membership proposals, to help Kyiv defend itself without becoming a member.
“Berlin is standoffish at the prospect of offering immediate membership,” the source told The Telegraph.
“It wants a process and time to develop guarantees to essentially block membership.”
The insider added that Germany was trying to avert a scenario that would see President Vladimir Putin “potentially test Article 5”. The clause stipulates if a Nato member is attacked, all of its fellow signatories will consider it an attack on themselves and must come to its defence.
Amid division over Washington’s decision to arm Kyiv with cluster munitions, the allies also appear to be poles apart on how to respond to President Zelenskyy’s calls for accession.
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500 days of war in Ukraine - in pictures
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Germany is not alone in its reluctance to give Mr Zelenskyy a seat at the table in the near future.
The topic poses one of the largest challenges facing Nato.
Some argue that admitting Ukraine would fulfil a promise made year ago and be an important step to deter Russian aggression in Eastern Europe.
But others are sceptical, making the case that such a move could be viewed by Moscow as a provocation.
Douglas Lute, who served as US ambassador to Nato under former American president Barack Obama, said: “Any fissure, any lack of solidarity provides an opportunity for those who would oppose the alliance."
Russian President Vladimir Putin is eager to exploit divisions as he struggles to gain ground in Ukraine and faces political challenges at home, including the aftermath of a brief revolt by the Wagner mercenary group.
“You don’t want to present any openings,” Mr Lute said. “You don’t want to present any gaps or seams.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
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Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
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Moon Music
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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