Originally published July 11, 2023 2:00 pm PDT
Following an intense debate at the annual NATO summit in Vilnius, the leaders of the 31-member alliance determined that Ukraine’s path to NATO membership would not be established according to a fixed timeline, but rather upon the fulfillment of certain conditions.
The decision, announced by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, provoked strong objections from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Stoltenberg highlighted that the alliance members committed to recognizing Ukraine as a future NATO state and decided to abolish the mandatory membership action plan prerequisite.
“We reaffirmed Ukraine will become a member of NATO and agreed to remove the requirement for a membership action plan,” he said. “This will change Ukraine’s membership path from a two-step path to a one-step path.”
Despite many NATO members providing arms and ammunition to Ukraine, there remains no unanimous agreement within the alliance regarding Ukraine’s immediate induction.
Instead, the members agreed to streamline the membership process, thereby allowing Ukraine to join NATO quickly once its conflict with Russia concludes.
Reacting to NATO’s decision, Zelenskyy was overtly critical, labeling it as “unprecedented and absurd” that neither an invitation timeframe nor a specific date for Ukraine’s NATO membership was provided.
He expressed his dissatisfaction via Twitter stating, “It’s unprecedented and absurd when a time frame is set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine’s membership.”
He further added, “While at the same time, vague wording about ‘conditions’ is added even for inviting Ukraine. It seems there is no readiness to invite Ukraine to NATO or to make it a member of the Alliance.”
NATO membership would not only offer Ukraine much-needed protection against Russia, which has previously annexed its Crimean Peninsula and seized considerable territories in the east and south, but would also necessitate reforms within its security infrastructure, governance, and anti-corruption mechanisms.
These changes would facilitate Ukraine’s journey towards joining the European Union.
Responding to Zelenskyy’s concerns, Stoltenberg stated that Ukraine’s primary focus should be on winning the war, explaining, “unless Ukraine prevails there is no membership to be discussed at all.”
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan cautioned that inducting Ukraine into NATO at this stage would inevitably plunge the U.S.-led alliance into a conflict with Russia.
A reform strategy for Ukraine to join NATO will be formulated, but Sullivan refused to commit to a timeline.
He said, “A ‘reform path for Ukraine’ to become a NATO member will be drawn up but ‘I can’t put a timetable on it.’”
Sullivan also highlighted the topics for the forthcoming discussion between U.S. President Joe Biden and President Zelenskyy, taking place in Vilnius.
He revealed that the conversation will center on how the U.S. alongside the Biden administration’s “partners are prepared to make long-term commitments to help Ukraine defend itself now and to deter future aggression.”
