WELL, YES: Moscow does not have a ‘veto against NATO enlargement,’ NATO’s Stoltenberg says.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that all NATO allies agree that Russia cannot prevent Ukraine’s eventual membership in the military alliance.

Speaking to reporters ahead of an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo, Norway, Stoltenberg said all allies agreed that “NATO’s door is open for new members.”

“All allies also agree that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance, and all allies agree that it is for the NATO allies and Ukraine to decide when Ukraine becomes a member,” he said.

“It is not for Moscow to have a veto against NATO enlargement, but most importantly, all allies agree that the most urgent and important task now is to ensure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation. President [Vladimir] Putin and Russia must not win this war.”

There are two issues here, one glossed over by Stoltenberg.

The first is that a defensive alliance that allows rivals veto power over its membership isn’t much of a defensive alliance. The other — glossed over — is whether or not it is particularly wise to invite in a particular member.