NATO members intend to offer Ukraine a renewed partnership format based on closer cooperation, but without giving it Alliance membership. This is how diplomatic sources commented on Ukraine’s closest prospects to the EURACTIV publication.
The report notes that Ukraine’s application for NATO membership, which the country submitted in September, will become one of the most important issues discussed at the organization’s summit in Vilnius in July.
Although increasing the status of Ukraine is supported by more and more NATO members, there is no question of granting membership.
According to data provided by EURACTIV, the expression of the new format of relations could be a new institution – the Ukraine-NATO Council. Diplomatic sources describe this action as a first step towards strengthening the political partnership between the Alliance and Kyiv.
It is believed that the meeting of NATO foreign ministers to be held in Oslo next week will be devoted to discussing the format and modalities for establishing the new council. During the meeting, it is planned to discuss future membership and the most urgent issues of military assistance to Ukraine.
“According to the plan, Ukraine should be a full member of the Ukraine-NATO Council, and not an invited participant in the discussions, as is the case now. Then Ukraine could hold meetings at its discretion and provide direct updates on the situation on the battlefield,” the source said.
In fact, the creation of such an institution would allow for a broader exchange of intelligence information, more detailed consultations, joint exercises, investments in the defense industry and efforts to coordinate the actions of Ukrainian forces and NATO members.
That the current situation seems rather strange, several NATO members have already spoken before: after all, a joint Russia-NATO council has been created for Russia, which entered the current war as an aggressor, although it doesn’t work now, and Ukraine, which is a friend of the Alliance, doesn’t have such a council.
NATO chief admits: there are disagreements over Ukraine’s membership aspirations
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this week that members of the Western military alliance were at odds over what to do at an upcoming summit on Ukraine’s bid for membership. membership.
“There are different opinions within the Alliance on this issue and, of course, the only way to make decisions in NATO is by consensus,” Stoltenberg told a conference in Brussels.
Ukraine, which is backed by NATO members in Eastern Europe, is calling for a ‘clear statement’ at the alliance summit in Vilnius in July that it will join the alliance after the end of the war started by Russia.
kyiv admits that it will not become a member of the Alliance as long as hostilities are taking place on its territory. But he wants the Alliance to go further than it did in 2008, when only a vague promise was made that Ukraine would one day become a NATO member.
“No one can say exactly what the final decision on this issue will be at the Vilnius summit,” Stoltenberg said.
Diplomats from NATO countries say that the dominant military power – the United States – does not want to go further than the promise made to Ukraine 15 years ago regarding membership.
Joining NATO would mean Ukraine would be subject to Article 5 of the alliance’s collective defense provision, which requires all allies to help defend themselves in the event of an attack.
Ukraine’s Western allies debate whether it is possible to offer Ukraine further security guarantees that would calm Kiev’s fears and serve as an interim step before the country becomes a NATO member .
France declared on Tuesday that it was ready to agree with Ukraine on “security guarantees which would help it to defend itself in the long term”.
“The ultimate guarantee of security will be NATO membership, but…it won’t come in the heat of the moment,” Stoltenberg said. – The question arises, what will we decide and how will we resolve the issue of joining the Vilnius Summit? And like I said, it’s still too early to talk about it.”
Mr Stoltenberg said that when the war in Ukraine ends, “we will have to make sure that we have agreements that deter Russia from continuing aggression”.
“Part of that is providing military support to Ukraine so they can deter and defend themselves,” he said. “But it will also lead to discussions about various security measures.”
Mr Stoltenberg said he hoped the summit would at least see NATO leaders agree on a multi-year program to help Ukraine’s military transition to using Western equipment. Russia’s war has already prompted Ukraine to switch to NATO-compliant weaponry as its international backers supply Kiev with increasingly advanced weaponry.
Source: The Delfi
