(CN) – Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are on board with Ukraine joining the organization once “requirements” are met and after Ukraine's war with Russia ends, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told members of the press on Wednesday, the final day of the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.
In some of the warmest overtures yet to the former Soviet bloc country, Stoltenberg and other NATO-linked officials also said they would continue supporting Ukraine through its war with Russia and would ease requirements for Ukraine to join the Cold War-era military alliance. Russia attacked Ukraine, a former republic of the Soviet Union, first in 2014 before launching a full-scale invasion of the country last year.
In a joint press conference on Wednesday with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Stoltenberg reiterated NATO's support for Ukraine and said the military alliance had "decided to establish a three-part package for Ukraine" that will help prep the Eastern European country for membership.
The package includes "a multiyear program with practical assistance," Stoltenberg explained, and will also establish "a new NATO-Ukraine council." He said the group was "reaffirming that Ukraine will become a member of NATO" and would "remove requirements to the Membership Action Plan.”
The Membership Action Plan is something of an application process for countries interested in joining NATO. It monitors a nation’s progress on a range of metrics, including economics, defense and politics, and helps ready countries for potential NATO membership.
The plan has also become a sticking point between Ukraine and countries like the United States, which have otherwise been united in their opposition to Russia's invasion. Less than 24 hours before Wednesday’s press briefing, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy published a tweet criticizing the alliance for not setting a fixed timeframe for the country’s accession to NATO.
"It seems there is no readiness neither to invite Ukraine to NATO nor to make it a member of the Alliance," Zelenskyy said in the tweet, calling the situation "unprecedented and absurd."
We value our allies. We value our shared security. And we always appreciate an open conversation.
Ukraine will be represented at the NATO summit in Vilnius. Because it is about respect.But Ukraine also deserves respect. Now, on the way to Vilnius, we received signals that…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 11, 2023
"Uncertainty is weakness," Zelenskyy added. He argued that without a clear path for Ukraine to join NATO, Russia would be motivated to "continue its terror."
By Wednesday, though, Zelenskyy's mood seemed to have shifted, as the NATO summit brought good news for his besieged country.
In addition to the warm reception from NATO, the G7 — a coalition of seven highly industrialized and democratic countries — also issued a pro-Ukraine declaration on Wednesday, offering security guarantees to Ukraine and describing Russia's invasion as a "flagrant violation of international law." In exchange, the declaration said, Ukraine has agreed to continue working on reforms, including by tackling corruption and protecting press freedoms.
“Allies all agree to lift the requirements for the Membership Action Plan for Ukraine and create a path for NATO membership as Ukraine continues to make progress on necessary reforms,” President Biden said at the summit on Wednesday, outlining these points of progress. “Today, all members of the G7 are launching a joint declaration to Ukraine, stating that our support will last long into the future.”
“We are going to help Ukraine build a strong capable defense across land, air and sea, from which it will be a force of stability in the region,” Biden added — though he did not directly answer questions about how quickly Ukraine might join NATO once the war ends.
Throughout the summit, Stoltenberg, the NATO general secretary, has continued to stress that a Ukrainian victory against Russia is a crucial prerequisite for Ukraine joining NATO. Those sentiments echo similar statements previously made by Biden.
All of that seemed like a fair deal to Zelenskyy, who — despite still not getting a fixed timeframe for membership — thanked G7 countries in an appearance at the summit with Biden.
“It is understandable that Ukraine cannot be let into NATO during a war,” Zelenskyy said.
For Zelenskyy, the NATO summit was all about his country's ongoing war with Russia. He aimed to remind NATO of the realities of the war and to prevent the bloodshed in his country from becoming normalized.
Now, as he prepares to return to Kyiv with new security guarantees and other deals, Zelenskyy said the the NATO summit had been a "meaningful success for Ukraine."
"I’m grateful to all leaders,” Zelenskyy said. “Today there are security guarantees for Ukraine on the way to NATO.”
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