WASHINGTON, February 24. /TASS/. The question of Ukraine’s possible accession to NATO is no longer on the agenda in Washington, US analyst and blogger Andrew Napolitano said in an interview with TASS.
"I think it's closed in the minds of American leadership. European leadership - I don't think so, because they don't learn their lessons," the analyst said when asked about the West’s attempts to bring Ukraine into the alliance.
He expressed confidence that the current leaders of the UK, Germany, Italy, and France - Keir Starmer, Friedrich Merz, Giorgia Meloni, and Emmanuel Macron - as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, would inevitably lose their positions in the foreseeable future. Of these five, only Meloni has a chance of retaining her position, while "the other four, I think, will soon be gone" because they "they have lost tremendous credibility with their own voters," according to Napolitano, who hosts the conservative podcast Judging Freedom.
He said it was difficult to predict whether the next US administration would revive attempts to admit Kiev to NATO if the Democrats were to win the 2028 election. The White House, the House of Representatives, and the Senate are currently controlled by Republicans. "It'll probably be a Democrat, but I don't know who, it could be somebody that's not on the scene," Napolitano said, referring to the next US leader. He added that, in his view, the Democratic Party has a stronger chance of winning the next presidential race.
Asked whether Russia and the US could agree on a new European security architecture, he replied: "That really depends on whether the US stays in NATO." He added, "I don't know what Europe will be like when the special military operation is over and Russia is unambiguously regarded as the victor, and Ukraine is neutralized. I don't know what happens to the rest of Europe in terms of its unity and its military solidarity," the analyst noted.
Illegitimate government
Napolitano also said he had little confidence in the ongoing negotiations involving Russia, the US, and Ukraine, given Kiev’s position. "I don't put much faith in them," he said, referring to the trilateral talks. "Zelensky [presents] an illegitimate government. He's controlled by Banderites and neo-Nazis, the lead Ukrainian negotiator is a murderer and an assassin," the analyst, who holds a law degree, stated. From 1987 to 1995, he was a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court and later taught law at several US colleges. "I shouldn't even call him President Zelensky. He's not the president. He has no legal authority. He's just sort of a holdover that the military and the Banderites follow, or he follows the Banderites, however you want to," Napolitano concluded.