The secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said on Wednesday that he hoped the alliance summit, scheduled for July, would find a “good solution” for Ukraine’s future integration into the Atlantic Alliance, providing a ” multiannual programme”. of reforms by the Ukrainian authorities.
“Discussions are ongoing and I am confident that we will find a good solution at the NATO summit” which will take place in the Lithuanian capital on July 11-12, said Jens Stoltenberg.
Ahead of the meeting of NATO defense ministers, which will take place in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance pointed out that “the most urgent task now is to ensure that Ukraine prevails as an independent nation and sovereign because unless Ukraine is victorious and can remain a democratic state in Europe, there is no accession to be discussed”.
“Next, I also hope that Allies will agree to a multi-year program in which we help Ukraine make the transition in terms of rules, equipment, procedures and solid doctrine. […] and with that, of course, we bring Ukraine closer to NATO”said Jens Stoltenberg.
At this meeting in Brussels, a “multi-year support package with substantial funding will be discussed to ensure that Ukraine can defend itself in the long term, make a solid transition to NATO standards, achieve full interoperability.” […] and reform and rebuild the security and defense sector,” the official said.
Final integration of Ukraine into NATO can only be achieved at the end of the war in Ukraine, as the Atlantic Alliance is governed by Article 5, which provides for the Allies’ response to an armed attack against any member.
The NATO leader declined to comment on “the various elements or conclusions” about this future integration, precisely because talks are still taking place within the Atlantic Alliance, but stressed that the allies “are in agreement on many things regarding the accession of Ukraine” such as a fact that “the door is open” and that Kiev will be a “member of the alliance” in the future.
He added: “We all agree that it is on the agenda […] It is up to NATO allies to decide when the time is right for Ukraine to join the alliance,” said Jens Stoltenberg.
This support for Ukraine’s integration into the Atlantic Alliance was immediately reflected at the Bucharest Summit in April 2008, when NATO welcomed “Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations”.
“We agreed today that these countries will join NATO. Both nations have made valuable contributions to the Alliance’s operations” and therefore “we are now entering a period of intense engagement with both countries at a high political level to resolve the unresolved address issues related to their candidacy,” said the 2008 summit communiqué.
The Ukrainian president has pushed for progress on this accession and two weeks ago, on the occasion of the second summit of the European Political Community in Moldova, he indicated that he expected a “clear invitation” at the July summit.
“In the summer, in Vilnius, at the NATO summit, a clear invitation to Ukraine’s membership is needed and security guarantees are needed on the road to integration,” said Volodymyr Zelensky.
A day after these statements, Zelensky would acknowledge, in a rare admission, that Ukraine’s entry into NATO will be “impossible” before the end of its ongoing war with Russia.
The Vilnius Summit will bring together the heads of government and state of the current 31 Allies (after Finland’s integration last April) who will decide on new measures to strengthen deterrence and defense, and to maintain support for Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion. started in February 2022.
Source: DN
