NATO issues statement on Ukraine's possible membership
(Baonghean.vn)- At the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit held in Lithuania on July 11, leaders of NATO member countries agreed that they would invite Ukraine to join the military alliance when the country meets certain conditions.
“Ukraine’s future lies within NATO,” the statement said, adding that the alliance had dropped the requirement for Ukraine to implement a Membership Action Plan (MAP), removing a barrier to joining the bloc. The statement also stressed that Ukraine would be invited to join NATO when member states agreed and Ukraine met certain conditions. However, the statement did not specify these conditions.
A day earlier, German media quoted NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg as saying that NATO member countries have not yet reached a final decision on Ukraine's prospects of joining the military alliance. Speaking in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius after meeting with host country President Gitanas Nausea, Mr. Stoltenberg noted that consultations on the conditions for Ukraine to become a NATO member are still ongoing, but he assured that the allies will send a good, strong and positive message at the 2-day NATO Summit on July 11-12 in Vilnius.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused NATO of not showing enough “respect,” and lashed out at the US-led military bloc for not being ready to offer Kiev immediate membership. “We value our allies. We value our common security. And we always appreciate an open dialogue. Ukraine will attend the NATO summit in Vilnius. Because it is about respect. But Ukraine also deserves respect,” Zelensky said on social media.
“There seems to be no willingness to invite Ukraine to join NATO or to make it a member of the Alliance. This means that there is still an opportunity to bargain for Ukraine’s membership in NATO when negotiating with Russia,” Zelensky wrote.
The Ukrainian leader’s aggressive stance is said to have been unpopular with Western diplomats at the NATO summit in Vilnius. “I criticize many aspects and especially the attitude of some allies, but I think this is not a mature and fair approach,” a senior diplomat from Central Europe told Politico, adding that Zelensky “is going too far.”
NATO has sent enough signals that it is ready to accept Ukraine into its ranks at some point, another diplomat told Politico. “Regardless of the language in our communique, all allies agree that Ukraine’s rightful future place is in NATO and that only Kiev and we can decide on that.”
