Ukraine’s Path to NATO Membership: Key Updates from the NATO Summit 2023

2023-07-12 19:41:15

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US President Joe Biden says at the conclusion of the NATO summit that “Ukraine is still free.”

July 12, 2023, 10:48 GMT

Last updated 37 minutes ago

US President Joe Biden said at the conclusion of the NATO summit, Wednesday, that Russian President Vladimir Putin “mistakenly believes that he can stand up to Ukraine.” He added that “Ukraine is still free, and the people of Ukraine are not broken.”

Biden said: “The NATO leaders agreed that Ukraine would be a member following the war.” NATO countries said that Ukraine might join the military alliance “when the allies agree and the conditions are met.”

NATO members confirmed their commitment to provide military support to Kiev for years.

On the sidelines of the summit, which was attended by the leaders of the NATO countries in the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, the leaders of the Group of Seven countries issued a statement expressing support for Ukraine in its defense once morest “Russian aggression, no matter how long it is,” according to the statement.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that support for “Kiev’s bid for NATO membership,” as well as “formal multilateral and bilateral arrangements” on the part of the alliance’s member states sends a clear message to the Russian president and “restores peace to Europe.”

He added that the United Kingdom played a prominent role in the agreement, which includes partners in the Group of Seven countries, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. More details are expected to be announced on Wednesday.

US President Joe Biden had proposed, earlier, a model for Ukraine similar to his country’s agreement with Israel. Under this agreement, Washington is committed to providing $3.8 billion in military aid annually over ten years.

However, the proposal, unlike NATO membership, does not include a provision on assisting the target country at the time of the attack.

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Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has not set a timeframe for Kiev’s accession to NATO

Zelensky said in the Lithuanian capital on Tuesday: “NATO will give Ukraine security, and Ukraine will make the alliance stronger.”

Zelensky had previously tweeted that “lack of clarity is a weakness,” and added that not setting an agreed timeframe means that his country’s membership might become a bargaining chip in the end.

Some NATO member states fear that Ukraine’s semi-automatic membership in the alliance will push Russia towards escalating the war and prolonging it.

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The two-day NATO summit is being held in Vilnius, Lithuania

Western security commitments have failed in the past to deter two Russian invasions. NATO allies hope the third round of pledges will be strong and clear enough to convince the Kremlin that further aggression would be too costly.

The NATO summit began in Vilnius, Lithuania, a day following Turkey agreed to support Sweden’s request to join the military alliance.

Turkey had opposed the move for months, accusing Sweden of harboring Kurdish militants.

Sweden will be the thirty-second member of the alliance following Finland, which borders Russia, joined the alliance last April.

The two countries announced their intention to join NATO following Russia invaded Ukraine.

Tuesday’s NATO summit also saw the announcement of a series of military packages for Ukraine.

Officials said an 11-nation coalition will begin training Ukrainian pilots to fly US-made F-16 fighter jets at a center to be established in Romania in August.

In May, the United States allowed Western allies to supply advanced aircraft to Ukraine, including the long-awaited F-16, a significant upgrade from Ukraine’s existing Soviet-era planes.

Ukraine has long pressed its Western allies for aircraft to help it launch its recently launched counter-offensive aimed at recapturing territories captured by Russia.

However, experts say it will take some time to train Ukrainian pilots for Western planes.

In addition to the security agreement announced by the Group of Seven, the United Kingdom announced plans to provide Ukraine with more than 70 combat and logistical vehicles, in order to enhance its counter-offensive.

This comes at a time when Russia launched a wave of kamikaze drone attacks on Kiev and its surrounding areas for the second day in a row on Tuesday night, the Ukrainian military said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage, according to preliminary information.

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