The United States and key allies of Ukraine, in particular, Great Britain, are discussing commitments to Kyiv, which they plan to announce as part of the NATO summit in Washington.
Points of attention
- The US and key allies are discussing NATO membership promises to Ukraine at an upcoming summit in Washington.
- There are disagreements between the position of the USA and some European countries on the issue of the clarity of prospects for Ukraine's membership in NATO.
- There is pressure on the USA from Europe to make the path to Ukraine's membership in NATO as clear and understandable as possible.
- The Biden administration is focusing on signing a defense pact with Ukraine as a bridge to Ukraine's possible membership in NATO.
What partners can guarantee to Ukraine based on the results of the NATO summit in Washington
According to journalists, referring to high-ranking US officials, a number of European countries criticize Washington for its reluctance to invite Ukraine to join NATO, as Poland and the Baltic states requested.
The USA and Germany offered to promise Ukraine a place in the Alliance but avoided providing the explicit guarantees that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg talked about in April.
According to the publication, precise wording regarding Ukraine's future membership is critical based on the results of the upcoming Alliance summit in Washington.
The allies plan to discuss this issue in the coming days and then thoroughly investigate it. This will determine Ukraine's membership prospects and send a real signal to Russia.
At the summit, we will take concrete steps to bring Ukraine closer to NATO and ensure that there is a bridge to membership, a bridge that will be strong and well lit, — says the head of the US State Department, Anthony Blinken.
Why the US refuses to support giving Ukraine a clear prospect of NATO membership
According to one of the high-ranking American officials, the White House doubts that the formulation of the "irreversible path" regarding Ukraine's membership will be supported by all the countries of the Alliance, in particular Hungary.
Several NATO members also do not support the "irreversible path" formulation.
With the summit roughly a month away, the topic remains a central point of tension in the ongoing talks.
Most Central European countries are disappointed by the ambiguity and procrastination of the Biden administration when it comes to outlining a concrete path for Ukraine, one of the European diplomats explains.
Another European official notes that the EU countries pushed the US to make the path of Ukraine's membership in NATO as straightforward as possible.
We instinctively feel that a new path should be paved. Attention should be paid to fast-tracking Ukraine's membership, — notes one of the European officials.
In April, during a conversation with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the Alliance is currently conducting work that makes Ukraine's path to NATO "irreversible", and when the time comes, Ukraine will immediately be able to gain membership.
Nevertheless, there is general recognition that NATO's position outside the summit should have changed since last year's meeting in Vilnius, when the allies declared that "Ukraine's future is in NATO."
At the time, alliance members announced they would drop the requirement for a Membership Action Plan for Ukraine, which would facilitate entry, but they declined to give a timeline for how long that might take.
Back in 2008, at the NATO summit in Budapest, Ukraine was first offered vague commitments regarding an invitation to join in the future.
I am sure that we will also have wording that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance. A clear wording, exactly what we will agree on... is currently being discussed between the allies, — said Stoltenberg at a press conference at the US State Department.
The Biden administration touted its recently signed ten-year defence pact with Ukraine, which calls itself "a bridge to Ukraine's possible membership in the NATO alliance." But for many Europeans, this is not enough.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that peace talks with Ukraine would only begin if Kyiv formally renounced its NATO aspirations.
Officials interviewed by CNN stressed that no decisions have yet been made on the NATO communique, and the content is still being actively discussed ahead of the summit.
When the text is on the table and the countries start negotiations, we will be able to see the full picture. We are ready for negotiations; of course, we would like it to be as ambitious as possible, — emphasised one of the European officials.
