Ukraine’s hoped-for rapid NATO membership spoke to the leaders gathered in Vilnius. However, a timetable for when Ukraine could become a member of the defense alliance has not yet been promised.
VILNA The president who arrived in the capital of Lithuania Volodymyr Zelenskyi did not get the road map to fast NATO membership that he hoped for.
The leaders of the NATO countries stated in their approved statement that Ukraine will be invited to become a member of NATO “when the allies agree and the conditions are met”.
The alignment reflects the varying positions of the allies regarding Ukraine’s NATO membership. The United States and Germany in particular have expressed reservations about setting a timetable as long as the war in Ukraine continues.
The line-up was disappointing for Zelensky, who expressed his feelings on Twitter. According to the president, it is “unheard of and absurd” that Ukraine could not be offered a timetable for when NATO membership would take place.
Stoltenberg: A positive and strong message
General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg the view of the situation is more optimistic.
– The allies have accepted a strong, united and positive message to Ukraine, Stoltenberg stated when presenting the summit statement.
Stoltenberg assured that Ukraine will be invited to become a NATO member when the conditions set by NATO are met. According to the statement, the Allies will continue to review Ukraine’s progress on compatibility, democratic reforms and the security sector.
At the same time, Ukraine’s NATO path will be smoothed by waiving the pre-assessment of membership requirements applicable to new members.
The procedure introduced in the 90s has been applied to all the countries that have joined since then, except for Finland and Sweden.
– Ukraine’s NATO membership is one step instead of two, Secretary General Stoltenberg said, referring to the removal of the preliminary assessment.
Peace is a prerequisite for membership
Ultimately, the fate of Ukraine’s NATO membership will be decided on the front against Russia. The first step towards membership of the defense alliance is the end of the war, while NATO avoids becoming a party to the war.
During the Vilnius meeting, Germany announced a new arms aid package for Ukraine of more than 700 million euros. France, on the other hand, promised Ukraine long-range missiles.
In addition, commitments are expected from the countries of the G7 group to strengthen Ukraine’s security.
However, security promises cannot be compared to NATO’s security guarantees under Article 5, according to which all allies must respond to an attack on a single member country.
For Ukraine, NATO’s Fifth Article is still a distant dream.