The Atlantic Alliance undertakes to “invite” Ukraine to join the military organization “when conditions allow” and its leaders “agree” so, says the final declaration of the Vilnius summit agreed by the heads of state and Government of the 31 allied countries, according to its Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, at the end of the negotiations, which have been shocked by the critical message sent at the last minute by President Volodimir Zelenski, disappointed by the lack of specification of the text .
Kyiv’s fear, evoked in the Alliance by the Baltic countries and Poland, is that a lack of specificity will be interpreted by Russia as an invitation to prolong the war or launch new aggressions in the future, as occurred after NATO said in in 2008 that Ukraine would one day be a member of the organization but did not set deadlines or take steps to make that promise a reality, a context that led Russia to annex Crimea in 2008 and launch a full-scale invasion of the country in 2022. For now, however, NATO believes that the conditions do not exist to go further: “All the allies agree as long as there is a war in Ukraine, it will not be the time for it to form part of the organization,” Stoltenberg said. , citing separately the need for the country to reform its institutions and the fight against corruption.
The inclusion of the word “invitation” in the summit declaration, however, supposes a greater concession on the part of the United States, allied sources highlight, as well as the agreement not to submit Kyiv to the classic process of negotiations, which include the development of an action plan for accession, a decision Germany was resisting. The statement also includes a mention of the “bilateral security guarantees” that different allies – the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, among others – and various G7 powers are negotiating with Ukraine, a language that the Polish delegation has asked to reinforce. to bring it closer to Kyiv’s aspirations.
The package of measures that NATO is going to offer Ukraine to shield its military and political support, despite Zelensky’s protests, is unprecedented. Firstly, the Alliance has agreed to set up a NATO-Ukraine Council in which both parties will sit on an equal footing to consult and take measures in the field of security; The first meeting of this forum will take place tomorrow in Vilnius, with the participation of Zelenski and the rest of the allied leaders. A multi-year defense plan will also be adopted to speed up Ukraine’s military transition away from Soviet-era equipment and improve its interoperability with allied armed forces. This decision could be backed by aid worth 7 billion euros over the next five years, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said during an allied meeting in Oslo.
After an intense diplomatic tour of several European countries and Turkey, Zelenski arrived in Vilnius this afternoon, where today he will participate in a gala dinner for the Allied leaders and tomorrow he will participate in the NATO-Russia Council meeting. Although in recent days he had once again threatened not to travel to the Lithuanian capital if what NATO offered his country did not meet his expectations, Zelenski has decided to attend “out of respect” for his allies, but not because he is in accordance with the level of commitment included in the draft declaration.
“Ukraine will be represented at the NATO summit as a matter of respect” but “Ukraine also deserves respect,” the Ukrainian leader tweeted before traveling to Vilnius, when he received “signals” about the type of text that was being negotiated in Lithuania . “It is unprecedented and absurd that a timetable is not set for Ukraine’s invitation or accession while, at the same time, vague mention of ‘conditions’ for inviting Ukraine is added,” criticizes the president. .
Kyiv hopes that the Alliance will specify in some way what circumstances should exist or what measures should be met for the allies to take that step, a desire that clashes with the caution demanded by the United States and Germany, among other allies, to avoid “automatisms” or “commit” the result of hypothetical peace talks with Russia, allied sources recall. Zelensky’s tweet criticizes in effect that, in his opinion, “an advantage of opportunity is left open for Ukraine’s accession to NATO to form part of negotiations with Russia” and that for Moscow “is an invitation to continue with the terror”. “Uncertainty is weakness and I am going to speak openly about that at the summit,” says Zelenski.
