Eastern European countries are pushing for concrete steps on Ukraine’s path to NATO membership, including a potential commitment to a timeline for membership.
There is a consensus among NATO’s 31 members that Ukraine will not receive an official invitation to join the Alliance at the Vilnius summit in July. However, among the countries participating in the bloc there are some disagreements on the position on specific steps for Ukraine’s integration into NATO, reports The Washington Post, citing representatives of NATO countries who commented on the condition of anonymous.
It was noted that Eastern European countries are promoting concrete steps towards Ukraine’s membership in NATO, including potential commitments on the timing of its accession, although the United States and some Western European countries are advocates measures that may include a bureaucratic modernization of the Ukraine-NATO commission or a decision on further expansion of NATO’s technical support to Ukraine’s defense sector.
According to the publication, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipovsky said his “wish list” for the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius included “providing an appropriate path” for Ukraine towards NATO. He emphasized that there are ongoing discussions on the “level of political will” on how quickly this can be done.
Also, the official of the Estonian Ministry of Defense, Tuuli Duneton, said that the Vilnius summit provides an opportunity to send a strong signal to Ukraine: “After all the suffering they endured, their place is in NATO, and we are glad. to see them there.”
At the same time, US officials said that US President Biden’s administration prefers NATO countries to pay more attention to providing Ukraine with continued support on the battlefield. At the same time, membership and potential security guarantees for Ukraine are issues that must be resolved after the final settlement of the war.
“At this stage, we should focus on practical support and how we can best expand the security assistance we provide to Ukraine,” a senior US official told reporters in Brussels a month ago, adding that “this is now the main political work”.
Despite the difference of opinion, the officials stressed the importance of showing unity as Ukraine seeks to be as strong as possible in possible negotiations with Russia.
Recall that the Polish Senate on May 12 unanimously adopted a resolution on Ukraine’s accession to NATO.
An invitation for Ukraine to NATO in the summer? Polish plan
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.