BERLIN

Germany on Thursday dashed Ukraine's hopes of receiving a clear membership perspective from the NATO defense alliance within this year.

“NATO has always made it clear that it has an open door policy [to Ukraine], and it is also clear that in the middle of a war, we cannot talk about a new membership,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters before a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo, Norway.

However, Baerbock advocated for stronger defense cooperation and emphasized that Germany and its NATO allies will continue to provide military support to Ukraine.

“The Russian war of aggression has again demonstrated the importance of defense. And due to the Russian war of aggression the cooperation with Ukraine and NATO has intensified,” she said.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov stated last month that they hope to receive a clear membership perspective from NATO during the alliance's upcoming summit in Vilnius in July.

Russia has repeatedly warned that the conflict could escalate into a world war if Ukraine were to be admitted into the US-led military alliance.

Ukraine officially submitted its application for fast-track NATO membership last September, following Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions.