VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — NATO leaders prepared to provide Ukraine with more military assistance to fight Russia, but only vague assurances of future membership ahead of the alliance’s summit Wednesday.
A draft agreement states that Ukraine can join NATO “when allies agree and conditions are met.” The ambiguous result reflects the challenges of reaching consensus among current members of the alliance as the war continues, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is likely to be unhappy.
Although Zelensky planned to attend the final day of the summit, he has been highly critical of what he described as NATO’s “absurd” reluctance to set a timetable for his country’s acceptance into the alliance
In essence, Western countries are willing to keep sending weapons to help Ukraine do the job NATO was designed to do: hold the line against a Russian invasion, but not allow Ukraine to join its ranks and benefit from its security.
Zelenskyy said in a speech on Tuesday in a Vilnius square that he had “faith” in NATO, but that he would like “that faith to turn into trust, trust in the decisions that we deserve, all of us, every soldier, every citizen “. , every mother, every child”.
“Is that too much to ask?” added.
Symbols of support for Ukraine are common in the city, where the country’s blue and yellow flags hang from buildings and are taped to windows. One sign cursed Russian President Vladimir Putin. Another urged NATO leaders to “speed up” their aid to Ukraine.
However, there has been more caution within the summit, particularly from US President Joe Biden, who has explicitly said he does not believe Ukraine is ready to join NATO. There are concerns that the country’s democracy is unstable and its corruption remains too entrenched.
In addition, Western nations fear provoking a wider conflict. Several leaders, from German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, said it was too risky to admit Ukraine during the war.
Under Article 5 of NATO’s charter, members are obligated to defend each other from attack, which could quickly draw the US and other nations into direct conflict with Russia.
However, defining the end of hostilities is not an easy task. Officials have declined to define the target, which could suggest a negotiated ceasefire or Ukraine taking back all occupied territory. Either way, Putin would essentially have veto power over Ukraine’s NATO membership, prolonging the conflict.
Wednesday’s pledges were to include a new Group of Seven “framework” that would operate on the sidelines of the summit that would ensure Ukraine’s long-term security.
Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement that the G7 joint statement “will set out how allies will support Ukraine over the coming years to end the war and deter and respond to any future attack. It is the first time that so many countries agree to such a long-term global security agreement with another country.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement that supporting Ukraine’s “progress on the path to NATO membership, together with formal, multilateral and bilateral agreements and the overwhelming support of members of NATO will send a strong signal to President Putin and bring peace back to Europe.” .”
While international summits tend to be tightly scripted, this one has been a seesaw between conflict and compromise.
At first, leaders appeared deadlocked over Sweden’s bid to join the alliance. However, Turkey unexpectedly agreed to drop its objections the night before the summit formally began.
The deal led to bragging rights from leaders who were eager for a show of solidarity in Vilnius.
“This summit is already historic before it has even begun,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters that “rumors of the death of the NATO unit were greatly exaggerated.”
Erdogan has not publicly commented on the agreement on Sweden’s membership, including during a Tuesday evening meeting with Biden in which Biden referred to “the agreement you reached yesterday.”
However, Erdogan seemed eager to develop his relationship with Biden. He said previous meetings were “mere warm-ups, but now we are starting a new process.”
The Turkish president has been seeking advanced US fighter jets and a path to membership in the European Union. The White House has expressed support for both, but has insisted publicly that the problems were unrelated to Sweden’s NATO membership.
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Associated Press writer Liudas Dapkus contributed to this report.
