Shortly before the c.g. retired gradually. NATO’s Jens Stoltenberg from the press conference made some announcements about Ukraine’s future in NATO, which seem to leave Kiev with mixed feelings to say the least.
Specifically, he said that Ukraine will join NATO when the allies agree and conditions are met, and that its accession path will change from a two-step process to a one-step process. In short, Ukraine didn’t even get the schedule it was asking for.
Two main obstacles to Ukrainian integration
There are two main obstacles for the country to join the Alliance, according to Stoltenberg.
1. “One dimension is the level or to what extent [Ukrainians] are facing the modernization of defense and security institutions, to strengthen their governance, including fighting corruption.” These have been addressed in every NATO enlargement, Stoltenberg stresses, “Because we need strong governance and we also want armed forces that are interoperable with NATO.” Apparently, the issue of corruption facing the Ukrainian state apparatus does not escape NATO.
2. “Allies agree when there is a war, it is not the time for Ukraine to become a full member of the alliance.”
Although reporters wanted to ask more questions of the secretary-general, he left the podium as “the leaders had to go to dinner.”
The two “cheeses” of Stoltenberg
Ukrainian accession may not have been given the go-ahead like Sweden, but Stoltenberg announced that Kiev would be treated more favorably in terms of steps towards full membership.
For the first time, NATO leaders have removed the requirement for an Integration Action Plan, which is part of the process of joining a new member to the military alliance, he said. Of course, this is nothing new for Ukrainians.
As early as Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that NATO had decided to drop the requirement that Kiev follow the Membership Action Plan.
It should be noted, however, that countries such as the USA and Germany argued that even in the case of Ukraine, the official – technical – accession process should be followed, while other states such as Poland and Britain consider that the “invitation” for Ukraine’s accession it will essentially be a political decision.
The aid package to Ukraine
Stoltenberg’s second offer, to appease the Ukrainians, is the new multi-year aid program to help Ukraine transition to NATO training standards. Stoltenberg described the announcements as “a strong package for Ukraine and a clear path to NATO membership.”
In particular, a new NATO-Ukraine Council will be formed where the Alliance and Ukraine will “meet as equals”, with the first meeting with President Zelensky taking place on Wednesday 12 July.
In their announcement, NATO said – among other things – that in order to support Ukraine’s integration into NATO, they agreed on a substantial package of expanded political and practical support.
“We have decided to establish the NATO-Ukraine Council, a new joint body where Allies and Ukraine participate as equal members to promote political dialogue, engagement, cooperation and Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for NATO membership. It will provide for joint consultations, decision-making and activities, and will also serve as a crisis consultation mechanism between NATO and Ukraine.”
“Continuing NATO’s provision of urgently needed non-lethal assistance to Ukraine through the Comprehensive Assistance Package (CAP) remains a priority.”
Since the Madrid Summit, Allies and partners have committed over €500 million to the aid package. To support Ukraine’s deterrence and defense in the short, medium and long term, we agreed today to further develop assistance in a multi-year program for Ukraine.
The assistance provided will help rebuild the Ukrainian security and defense sector and Ukraine’s transition towards full interoperability with NATO. Allies will continue to fund the CAP in a stable and predictable manner. We welcome and encourage contributions from partners, the release said.
We want NATO
“Even if different positions are expressed, it is clear that Ukraine deserves to be a member of the alliance”, the Ukrainian president said in his speech earlier “Not now – there is a war – but we need a clear signal. And we need it now.”
Already before Stoltenberg proceeded to make statements, the Ukrainian president, clearly disturbed by what was being reported, stated that “It seems that there is no readiness either to invite Ukraine to NATO or to become a member of the alliance […] For Russia, this is an incentive to continue its terrorist operations,” said the Ukrainian leader, calling it “unprecedented and absurd” that “no timetable is set for either the invitation or the accession of Ukraine.”
A little later, Zelensky, addressing a crowd gathered in the center of Vilnius, said that “NATO will give Ukraine security. Ukraine will make NATO stronger!”, showing that for his country there is no other way, even if the Westerners set the pace.
