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“NATO will provide security for UkraineUkraine will strengthen NATO”, Volodimir Zelensky insisted yesterday for the umpteenth time, but kyiv’s accelerated accession to the defense alliance that it so desires will still have to wait. While the Ukrainian president delivered an effusive speech in a central square in Vilma, the capital of Lithuania, a few meters away, the leaders of the NATO They took little forceful steps to materialize the request that the former Soviet republic has maintained since 2002.
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In a statement approved by the allies at the end of the first day of their summit, the NATO opened its arms to the Ukrainian membership, but refrained from handing over kyiv the formal invitation or the calendar for the accession that he longs for and that would be a turning point in the war that he has been waging with Russia for 17 months.
The most concrete gesture of goodwill made by the NATO was to remove the requirement that Ukraine comply with what is called a Membership Action Plan (MAP), thereby removing one of two obstacles in the way of kyiv towards the alliance.
The MAP, required of applicants for membership, a preliminary process that requires more time to prepare for an invitation to the alliance and includes technical and political assistance from the alliance and specific practical support in areas such as defense, economics, security and legal regulations.
“ANDwe will be in a position to invite Ukraine to join the Alliance when the allies agree and the conditions are met”, says the document, which, at the same time, affirms that “the future of Ukraine is in NATO”.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized that the importance of the declaration in Vilnius lies in the fact that it sets out “the tools to ensure that Ukraine moves closer to membership.” As agreed, the alliance would help kyiv advance military interoperability as well as further democratic and security sector reforms.
However, Stoltenberg said he believes that all NATO countries agree that as long as the war continues, “this is not the time to make Ukraine a full member of the Alliance.”
Point of conflict?
Despite the fact that several of the allies send arms and ammunition to Kiev, the statement highlighted the divisions that exist among the 31 NATO members when it comes to setting the terms of Ukraine’s accession.
The newspaper “The New York Times” details that the leaders of the alliance struggled to agree on how to describe a timetable and the conditions for what they all agree will be Ukraine’s eventual NATO membership. “The battle within NATO was not about whether Ukraine would join, but how and under what conditions. Some countries wanted an immediate invitation after the war ends; other countries, such as the United States, wanted to avoid any notion that entry would be automatic,” the outlet notes.
On the other hand, there is no doubt that the NATO announcement does not fully satisfy Ukraine. Before arriving in Lithuania, the Ukrainian president had said that any move that did not lead to a firmer timetable for his country’s integration into the bloc would be “absurd.”
Stoltenberg tried to calm the waters by saying that “there has never been a stronger message from NATO at any time, both in terms of the political message of the way forward for accession [de Ucrania] as well as the concrete support of the NATO allies”.
He also added that previous NATO accessions had not been accompanied by a timetable. “They’re condition-based, they always have been,” he said.
Despite his initial criticisms, Zelensky toned down in Lithuania, expressing gratitude for the allies’ new promises of weapons. On Twitter, he claimed that he appreciated his “willingness to take new steps.”
International analyst Roberto Heimovits points out that Ukraine is understandably disappointed by the unfavorable reaction to admitting it to NATO. However, he considers that, at this moment, it is as if Ukraine is part of the alliance because it receives a lot of military aid to repel the Russian invasion, billions in weapons and billions in economic aid. “It is not enough, but it is a very big help,” he tells El Comercio.
“It is a disappointment for Ukraine, but I think that the most important thing now is not to set a date, but rather that NATO give Ukraine more weapons because it needs longer-range rockets, it needs more ammunition, it needs more tanks, it needs the fragmentation bombs, you need the F 16 planes. That is more important for Ukraine than the fact that they give it a date to enter“, Explain.
Stances and strategies
If it comes to fruition, Zelensky’s request will have repercussions far beyond kyiv. It was precisely the possibility of Ukraine’s accession to NATO that triggered the tension with Russia, since Moscow claimed for years that such a move would be considered an existential threat to its country.
For Moscow it is a nightmare that Ukraine, the former “sister country”, joins the Alliance, which has expanded in recent years and already has military contingents in eight Eastern European countries, four of them bordering Russia.
In fact, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the military intervention in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, he demanded, among other things, that the former Soviet republic have a “neutral status” and guarantees that it would never enter NATO.
On the NATO side, Heimovits points out that if the alliance were to admit Ukraine it would mean that if Ukraine is attacked and asks for the alliance’s support, all of NATO would have to come to its aid, with all available means.
“This would imply an open war between NATO and Russia, something that no NATO country is willing to accept at the moment. It would not suit those countries. What is in their best interest is to increase the amount of weapons they give Ukraine so that they can effectively succeed in their counter-offensive and drive out the Russians, but not a direct clash with Russia.”, says the expert.
At this point, with a stalled war and no end in sight, what is at stake if NATO does not take concrete steps towards Ukrainian accession? Alyona Getmanchuk, founder and director of the New Europe Center, told “The New York Times” that anything short of a political invitation to Ukraine will surely be perceived by Putin as a victory, allowing him to maintain his de facto veto over the enlargement process. NATO and keep attacking.
“As long as Ukraine remains in NATO limbo, Putin will attack Ukraine again and again in the hope of creating a new Russian Empire. There is no better insurance for Ukraine against further attacks than the guarantee of future NATO membership”, he points out.
Furthermore, Heimovits adds that Ukraine’s possible accession or not to NATO could eventually be used as an inducement given to Putin so that he can wash his face, even if he is defeated, and make peace. “NATO membership can be a bargaining card for the future, a pressure card on Putin. If he eventually doesn’t withdraw his troops from Ukraine, then NATO is going to set a date to admit it, that is, it may be a negotiating factor, but I think that right now was not the right time to set a date.”, he points out.
“That is why I think that Ukraine’s request was unrealistic. It was understandable because she wants to have more help, to be part of the alliance, not to feel alone, but it was not to be expected that NATO would accept. Now, that does not mean that NATO will abandon Ukraine, nor will it stop giving aid to Ukraine, on the contrary, it is necessary for it to give more military and economic aid to Ukraine and that this situation will continue even if it comes to a one-on-one peace. But a formal entry I think is not appropriate at this time and would not help”, he concludes.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
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