Biden: 'War With Russia Must End Before Ukraine Can Enter NATO'

President Biden has laid out his full vision for Ukraine's eventual membership in NATO, a day before the much anticipated major NATO annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania - which Zelensky has also been invited to attend in person.

While Air Force One was en route to Eastern Europe, at least one major development occurred, namely Turkey suddenly reversing course on Sweden's accession, with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirming that Erdogan has agreed to advance Sweden's membership as a 32nd member of the alliance. 

Speaking to CNN on the all-important question of where Ukraine stands in Washington's eyes, Biden emphasized the war-ravaged country is not yet ready for NATO membership. 

He made clear that the US would not support its path to entry (or even seriously discuss it) until after the war with Russia ends. But in place of guarantees for future membership, which it now seems very clearly won't be something issued at the Vilnius summit, Biden is promising an essentially endless weapons supply in the foreseeable future, after controversially approving cluster bombs.

"I don’t think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war," Biden said.

"For example, if you did that, then, you know – and I mean what I say – we’re determined to commit every inch of territory that is NATO territory. It’s a commitment that we’ve all made no matter what. If the war is going on, then we’re all in war. We’re at war with Russia, if that were the case," he stressed - in an implicit reference to the Article 5 common defense treaty.

But then he continued suggesting eventual, future membership: "I think we have to lay out a rational path for Ukraine to be able to qualify to be able to get into NATO," Biden said.

"But I think it’s premature to say, to call for a vote, you know, in now, because there’s other qualifications that need to be met, including democratization and some of those issues," the President explained.

While Biden is at the very least showing some restraint on the NATO question, a number of Congressional hawks, especially among Republicans, have called for Kiev's formal NATO membership, raising the political pressure higher...

Interestingly, in the same interview Biden boasted that he refused to accede to President Putin's demands to pledge not to admit NATO. Biden says he resisted caving on the alliance's principle of "an open-door policy" - which is strange given the fact that such a simple pledge could have prevented a war.

Meanwhile, more revealing Freudian slips out of this administration...