VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — NATO leaders have prepared to provide Ukraine with additional military assistance to fight Russia, but only vague assurances of future membership as the alliance summit draws to its end on Wednesday.
A draft agreement stipulates that Ukraine can join NATO “when the allies agree and the conditions are met”. The ambiguous outcome reflects the challenges of reaching consensus among current members of the alliance as the war continues, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is likely to be dissatisfied.
Although Zelenskyy planned to attend the final day of the summit, he strongly criticized what he described as NATO’s ‘absurd’ reluctance to set a deadline for his country’s acceptance into the alliance. .
Essentially, Western countries are prepared to continue sending weapons to help Ukraine do the job NATO was designed to do – hold the line against a Russian invasion – but not allow Ukraine to join. its ranks and benefit from its security.
Zelenskyy said in a speech in a Vilnius city square on Tuesday that he had “faith” in NATO, but that he “would like that faith to become trust, trust in the decisions that we all deserve. , every soldier, every citizen”. , every mother, every child.
“Is that too much to ask? ” he added.
Symbols of support for Ukraine are common in the city, where the country’s blue and yellow flags are hung from buildings and stuck inside windows. A sign curses Russian President Vladimir Putin. Another urged NATO leaders to “accelerate” their aid to Ukraine.
However, there was more caution within the summit itself, particularly from US President Joe Biden, who explicitly stated that he did not believe Ukraine was ready to join NATO. Some fear that the country’s democracy is unstable and that its corruption remains too deeply rooted.
Moreover, Western nations fear triggering a wider conflict. Several leaders, from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, have said it was too risky to admit Ukraine into the war.
Under Article 5 of the NATO charter, members are required to defend themselves against attacks, which could quickly draw the United States and other countries into direct combat with Russia.
However, defining the end of hostilities is not an easy task. Officials declined to define the goal, which could suggest a negotiated ceasefire or Ukraine reclaiming all occupied territory. Either way, Putin would essentially have a veto over Ukraine’s NATO membership by prolonging the conflict.
Wednesday’s commitments were to include a new “framework” of Group of Seven countries acting on the sidelines of the summit that would ensure Ukraine’s long-term security.
Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement that the G7 joint statement would “set out how the allies will support Ukraine over the coming years to end the war and deter and respond to any future attacks.” This is the first time that so many countries have concluded such a long-term comprehensive security agreement with another country.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement that support for Ukraine’s “progress towards NATO membership, coupled with formal, multilateral and bilateral agreements and overwhelming support from members of the ‘NATO will send a strong signal to President Putin and bring peace to Europe’. .”
Although international summits are often tightly scripted, this one has oscillated between conflict and compromise.
At first, the leaders seemed deadlocked over Sweden’s application to join the alliance. However, Turkey unexpectedly agreed to drop its objections the day before the official start of the summit.
The deal has led to bragging of success from leaders eager to show solidarity in Vilnius.
“This summit is already historic before it even started,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters that “the rumors about the death of NATO unity are greatly exaggerated.”
Erdogan has not publicly commented on Sweden’s membership deal, even during a Tuesday night meeting with Biden where Biden referred to “the deal you made yesterday.”
However, Erdogan seemed eager to develop his relationship with Biden. He said previous meetings were “just warm-ups, but now we’re starting a new process.”
Turkey’s president is seeking advanced US fighter jets and a path to European Union membership. The White House expressed support for both, but publicly insisted the issues were unrelated to Sweden’s NATO membership.
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Associated Press writer Liudas Dapkus contributed to this report.