NATO's divisive moment

NATO member states are locked in discussions to determine the next steps for Ukraine’s accession, The Washington Post reported, as the discussions heat up ahead of US President Joe Biden and NATO leaders’ expected trip to Vilnius, Lithuania, for a NATO summit in July.

NATO officials, many of whom spoke anonymously, said the 31 members of the military alliance agreed to reject a formal invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance at a summit scheduled for July 11-12 in Lithuania.

While Eastern European NATO member states demand that NATO present a roadmap for Ukraine's accession at the upcoming summit, the United States and Western European members favor more modest steps, such as upgrading the NATO-Ukraine cooperation body or deciding to expand technical assistance to Ukraine in the defense sector.

Tuuli Duneton, a senior official in the Estonian Ministry of Defense, also said that the upcoming summit in Lithuania offers an opportunity to send a strong message to Ukraine that it deserves a place in NATO. Similarly, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said that he hopes the upcoming summit will chart the right path for Kiev to join NATO.

However, the US, along with NATO members in Western Europe, favor a more cautious and slow approach to the issue. Some countries believe that admitting Ukraine while the conflict there is still ongoing would put NATO in direct confrontation with Russia. A British diplomat said that the goal between now and the Lithuania summit is to push for an agreement that shows progress on Ukraine's membership aspirations.

Although not yet a member of NATO, on May 16, Ukraine officially became a member of the NATO Cyber Defense Cooperative Center of Excellence (CCDCOE).

Since the conflict in Ukraine broke out, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly affirmed that NATO supports Ukraine's accession to the alliance, but has not said when or how this will happen. During his visit to Ukraine on April 20, Mr. Stoltenberg pledged to continue supporting Kiev's early accession to NATO, but did not give a specific timeframe.

Recently, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also revealed that there is still no decision on Ukraine joining NATO at the present time, and said that a decision related to this issue will only be made after the conflict in Ukraine ends.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has urged NATO to make a decision soon on inviting Kiev to join the alliance. “The Vilnius summit will not be historic if it does not make a decision on Ukraine’s future in the alliance,” Ambassador Nataliia Galibarenko, Head of the Ukrainian delegation to NATO, stressed.

According to Ambassador Galibarenko, Ukraine believes that NATO can clearly define the path for Kiev to join the alliance instead of continuing to repeat the declaration of an open door policy towards new members. Explaining why NATO should admit Ukraine as a member, Ms. Galibarenko said that without Ukraine, protecting NATO's eastern flank would be an impossible task. She emphasized: "Just as Finland and Sweden strengthen NATO's northern flank, Ukraine will help ensure the security of the alliance in the Eastern Europe and Black Sea region."

Loyalty

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