Former Vice President Mike Pence (R) said on Tuesday that consideration over Ukraine joining NATO should wait until after the country’s war with Russia is over.

“Well, not during the war,” Pence said in an interview on CNN with Kaitlan Collins when asked if he thought Ukraine was ready to join the alliance.

“I honestly believe that it’s important, as the leader of the free world and the arsenal of democracy, that America continue to provide the Ukrainian military what they need to fight and win and repel that unprovoked Russian invasion,” Pence added.

“But the question of NATO membership,” he continued, “I think it should all wait on after the war is won.”

Pence, who recently became the first 2024 GOP presidential candidate to visit Ukraine, has been clear on his support for Ukraine and has even criticized the Biden administration for not doing enough for the country. His position on NATO membership, however, reflects what Biden has said on the matter.

“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 told CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in an interview that aired Sunday. “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,” Biden added, referring to the NATO alliance’s commitment of mutual defense. 

The issue of NATO membership has come into sharp focus in recent weeks as international leaders prepared to come together for a NATO summit taking place this week in Vilnius, Lithuania. Biden and other NATO allies have made clear their intentions to eventually admit Ukraine to the alliance but have stressed that there are other obstacles to overcome first. Many have also made clear the issue would not be resolved during the ongoing war. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, nonetheless, has continued to push for the alliance to admit his country and has criticized NATO for failing to provide a timeless for membership.