NATO leaders have said that war-torn country Ukraine will be allowed to join the alliance when all the allies agree and the conditions are met. This came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised NATO’s failure to set a timetable calling it all “absurd”.
The alliance’s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told the reporters that NATO has “reaffirmed” Ukraine will become a NATO member and agreed to remove the requirement of a membership action plan. “This will change Ukraine’s membership path from a two-step path to a one-step path,” he added.
Tweeting his displeasure with the situation, Zelenskyy said it is “unprecedented and absurd” when a time frame is set neither for an invitation nor Ukraine’s membership. He added that the organisation has added “vague wording about conditions” for inviting Ukraine. “It seems there is no readiness to invite Ukraine to NATO or to make it a member of the Alliance,” he further said.
Talking about Zelenskyy’s concerns, NATO chief Stoltenberg said the most important thing as of now is to make sure that Ukraine wins the war. “Unless Ukraine prevails there is no membership to be discussed at all,” he added.
Divisions within NATO over Ukraine’s membership
There have been sharp divisions within the alliance over Ukraine’s desire to join NATO, which was promised back in 2008 even though few steps were taken toward that goal.
In addition, the Baltic states, including Lithuania, have pushed for a strong show of support and a clear pathway toward membership for Ukraine.
However, the United States and Germany urged caution. Biden said last week that Ukraine was not ready to join. Members of NATO, he told CNN, need to “meet all the qualifications, from democratisation to a whole range of other issues,” a nod toward longstanding concerns about governance and corruption in Kyiv.
Membership action plan removed
To fast-track its future membership, the leaders agreed to do away with a membership action plan for Ukraine, a program often seen as mandatory for aspiring nations to undertake.
Known in NATO parlance as a MAP, the action plan involves a tailor-made package of advice, assistance and practical support for countries preparing to join NATO. Bosnia, for example, is currently taking part in one.
Pressed by reporters to say what kind of conditions are being placed on Ukraine joining, Stoltenberg said: “We want modern defence and security institutions. He also said Kyiv’s hopes might hinge on strengthening its governance standards and fighting corruption.
(With Agency Inputs)