A conflict arose between the United States and Great Britain due to Washington's refusal to recognize the path to Ukraine's NATO membership as "irreversible."
Points of attention
- The dispute between the United States and Britain regarding Ukraine's membership in NATO arose due to the refusal to recognise the path to the alliance as "irreversible". It is worth paying attention to the differences in approaches to this situation.
- President Putin is trying to create a coalition of countries to oppose NATO, particularly using historical ties with some states and information operations to build an alternative alliance.
- The agreement between Russia and North Korea caused outrage in NATO, which emphasizes the convergence of authoritarian regimes and the importance of the unity of democracies in the fight against authoritarian states.
- According to the dynamics of cooperation between the Russian Federation and Asian countries, NATO should focus on cooperation with allies in the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen its position in global conflicts.
- There is a need for the unity of democratic countries worldwide, as authoritarian regimes try to unite and support each other, which can affect world order and stability.
What is known about the differences between the United States and Britain regarding Ukraine's membership in NATO
The USA is noted to be worried about the allies' desire to provide President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with guarantees regarding Ukraine's accession to NATO.
At the same time, Great Britain supported the initiative of the European allies to determine Ukraine's "irreversible" path to NATO.
Meanwhile, the US insists on softening the definitions, calling the process a "well-lit bridge" to membership without specifying specific terms.
Journalists of the publication note that the Alliance summit in Washington does not plan to indicate the specific terms of Ukraine's accession to NATO. However, additional guarantees are expected to be provided to Kyiv.
What is known about Putin's attempts to create an analogue of NATO
As analysts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) note, the Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin seeks to create a coalition of countries to oppose the countries of the West, particularly NATO.
ISW emphasises that Putin seeks to draw into his coalition countries with historically warm relations with the USSR.
In particular, on June 19, on the eve of his visit to Vietnam, the Kremlin dictator published an article in the Vietnamese state newspaper Nhân Dân in which he recalled the USSR's support for Vietnam during the war.
Putin referred to the historical memory of the Soviet Union's support for Vietnam during the Vietnam War, which he called a "heroic struggle against foreign invaders", and noted that today marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the Basic Principles of Friendly Relations between Russia and Vietnam. .. praised Vietnam for pursuing an "independent foreign policy" and upholding a world order based on "the principles of equality among nations and non-interference in internal affairs," repeating his praise of North Korea on June 18 and 19. The President of the Russian Federation also stated that, like the North. Korea, Vietnam share Russia's views on the formation of a new system of "equal and indivisible Eurasian security" — although Vietnam, like most of Southeast Asia, is not usually included in the political concepts of Eurasia — the ISW analysts report notes.
Analysts emphasize that, in the same way, Putin tried to lay the informational basis of the Eurasian security structure during his visit to China in May 2024 and proposed it in a speech on June 14.
At the time, he said that the "Euro-Atlantic security system" was collapsing and that Western "schemes of security and prosperity in Europe are not working."
According to analysts, the Russian dictator aims to create a coalition of countries that he could try to present as a natural alternative to NATO.
Putin probably intends to use the historical memory of positive relations with the Soviet Union and previous assistance to other states to create a coalition of countries that he could try to present as a real alternative to NATO and support the information operations of the Kremlin, which tries to misrepresent Western countries as the only supporters of Ukraine, while the rest of the world stands behind Russia, ISW emphasises.
What NATO says
According to Reuters, referring to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's statement, the strategic partnership agreement between Russia and North Korea demonstrates the rapprochement of authoritarian regimes—it emphasizes the importance of the unity of democracies.
Stoltenberg stated that North Korea provided the Russian Federation with "a huge amount of ammunition". At the same time, China and Iran significantly helped the Russian military-industrial complex in the war against Ukraine.
We must realize that authoritarian states are increasingly uniting. They support each other in a way we've never seen before. At a time when they are increasingly united — such authoritarian regimes as North Korea, China, Iran, Russia — it is even more important that we are united as countries that believe in freedom and democracy, Stoltenberg warned.
The deepening of contacts between the Russian Federation and other Asian countries means that cooperation with allies in the Asia-Pacific region is becoming more and more important for NATO.
