Stoltenberg: No Point in Discussing Ukraine’s NATO Membership if Kiev Loses the Conflict
15:52 GMT 11.07.2023 (Updated: 16:59 GMT 11.07.2023)
© Sputnik / Стрингер / NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during news conference in Brussel, Belgium. NATO summit of heads of state and government starts tomorrow in Brussel.
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NATO summit kicked off on Tuesday with the focus on Ukraine possible invitation to the alliance. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that the Eastern European state would join the bloc when all member states agree on it and if it meets all the conditions.
There is no point in discussing Ukraine’s NATO membership if Kiev does not prevail in the ongoing conflict, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.
"I think all allies agree that when a war is going on that's not the time for making the Ukraine the full member of the alliance," he stressed.
"We also made clear that we will issue an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO when allies agree and conditions are met," Stoltenberg told a press conference.
The secretary general also said that the procedure does not have a specific time frame.
In the final communiqué, NATO members confirmed that they see Ukraine in the alliance in the future.
"We fully support Ukraine’s right to choose its own security arrangements," the document says. "Ukraine’s future is in NATO. We reaffirm the commitment we made at the 2008 Summit in Bucharest that Ukraine will become a member of NATO, and today we recognise that Ukraine’s path to full Euro-Atlantic integration has moved beyond the need for the Membership Action Plan."
Per the NATO communiqué, Ukraine has become increasingly interoperable and politically integrated with the transatlantic alliance and "made substantial progress on its reform path."
The alliance particularly referred to the 1997 Charter on a Distinctive Partnership between NATO and Ukraine and the 2009 Complement, stressing that NATO member states will continue to support and review Ukraine’s "progress on interoperability" and "additional democratic and security sector reforms that are required."
"NATO Foreign Ministers will regularly assess progress through the adapted Annual National Programme. The Alliance will support Ukraine in making these reforms on its path towards future membership. We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance when Allies agree and conditions are met," the document reads.
The bloc has announced the establishment of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a new joint body where NATO member states and Ukraine would sit as "equal members" to advance political dialogue, cooperation and "Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in the alliance."
Still, the Kiev leadership is seeking admission to NATO in an expedited manner insisting that no other decision will suit Ukraine. On the opening day of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted that it is "absurd" that there is no time frame for inviting Ukraine to the alliance.
Russia has repeatedly warned the alliance against admitting Ukraine to its ranks as well as beefing up NATO's military presence on Russia's doorstep.
In its Vilnius summit communique NATO said that the alliance does not seek confrontation with Russia but cannot consider Moscow to be its partner. Commenting on the statement, Russian Foreign Ministry referred to the fact that NATO has been de facto participating in the Russo-Ukraine conflict. Since the conflict began, the US have directed more than $75 billion in assistance to Ukraine, including sophisticated weaponry. Most recently, the Biden administration decided to deliver inaccurate and deadly cluster munitions to Kiev despite objections from some European politicians, human rights activists and House lawmakers.
