steps forward and that is something that president biden himself has acknowledged would be premature for ukraine to enjoy now, but they could be discussing what it looks like moving forward. i don t think there is unanimity about whether or not to bring ukraine into the nato family now. at this moment. the middle of a war. for example, if you did that, then and i mean what i say, we re determined to commit every inch of territory that is nato territory, a commitment that we ve all made no matter what. if the war is going on, then we re all in a war. you know, we re at war with russia if that were the case. so i think that we have to lay out a rational path for russia excuse me, for ukraine to be able to qualify to get into nato. nato is a process that takes time to meet all the
apple press allies to continue support for ukraine and discuss kyiv s long standing request to join the alliance. this is against the backdrop of the u.s. finally beginning to supply cluster bombs. for more, here is priscilla alvarez. reporter: the stakes couldn t be higher for the future of the nato alliance at a critical time with the ongoing war in ukraine and failed coup attempt in russia last month. so president biden will embark on this three country trip, he will start at the united kingdom where he will meet with king k45ir8s as well as the british prime minister and then move on for the nato summit and conclude in finland. but the summit is key and it is one in which there will likely be discussions about whether or not ukraine will join nato. on friday, national security adviser jake sullivan told reporters that it is unlikely that coming out of the summit ukraine will be joining nato, but they could be discussing
qualifications. and from democratization to a whole range of other issues. in the meantime though i ve spoken with zelenskyy at length about this, an one of the things i indicated is that the united states would be ready to provide while the process is going on, and it will take a while, while that process is going on, to provide security ala the security we provide for israel. providing the weaponry, the capacity to defend themselves. if there is an agreement, sf there is a ceasefire, if there is a peace agreement. reporter: the question will be a flash point the next week and president biden would be a key player in determining criteria or time line. so that is really where the focus will be the next few days. will ukraine eventually join nato and also what does long term aid look like as the war is ongoing especially after the u.s. committed to sending cluster munitions to the country. nato allies aren t expected to follow the u.s. lead on cluster bombs and probably
went through a very difficult process deliberating this, i think at the end of the day they came out at the right spot. they have to he help ukraine take back territory and stop the civilian casualties that russia is inflicting on their own population. yeah, i mean, you say that they have been grappling with the situation for a while. i mean, how do you think president biden has handled this crisis? well, look, from the standpoint of stepping up when it mattered, i think biden gets an a-plus. however, and this is important for the deliberations taking place this week, we have to see more of his strategy because right now what you have is kind of like a potluck dinner where everyone is bringing a dish that doesn t necessarily all fit together. and ukraine is somewhat struggling with the arms that they have gotten, how they work together and what they actually need in order to put russian forces out of their territory.
think there is a lot that we can do as the two countries that have provided the most support for kyiv. so then looking ahead to the other allies, the fourth nato summit since the russia invasion, you talked about the allies supplying ukraine, but clearly, you know, ukraine joining nato will be on the list of topics. we heard president biden with the interview with fareed zakari, ukraine is not ready to join nato, but of course when will be a huge question at the summit. the when is a question. and quite frankly this comes back to my old diplomatic days of descriptions. there are ways in which that we can describe ukraine s potential membership, the path to that membership, as well as its current status. and you heard president biden in