Ukraine can join NATO “when allies agree and conditions are met”

Despite recognising the need to move faster, members recently stressed Ukraine can join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation “when allies agree and conditions are met” after President Volodymyr Zelensky raised concerns over an absence of a timetable for his country’s entry.

Members Shorten Ukraine’s Application Process

“We reaffirmed Ukraine will become a member and agreed to remove the requirement for a membership action plan,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters, referring to a key step in joining the group.

With the decision, the war-ravaged nation’s membership path will involve just a single step, instead of two. Zelensky is currently in Vilnius, Lithuania, where the alliance’s summit is happening. The meeting comes a day after Turkey stopped blocking Sweden’s application.

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Ankara had previously spent months opposing Stockholm’s NATO membership bid, accusing it of hosting Kurdish militants. The country will now become the group’s 32nd member after neighbouring Finland joined in April.

Greater Focus Now On Long-Term Security Guarantees

Zelensky, tweeting before the announcement by Stoltenberg, said the lack of an agreed timeframe meant “a window of opportunity is being left to bargain Ukraine’s membership in NATO in negotiations with Russia. Uncertainty is weakness.”

Despite the absence of a clear schedule, diplomats emphasised the application process had been shortened and a new NATO-Ukraine Council was created too to offer the country the right to summon meetings of the whole alliance.

Nevertheless, some member states fear Ukraine’s near-automatic membership would likely encourage Russia to prolong as well escalate the conflict. The focus now could be on what security guarantees NATO will promise Kyiv to persuade Moscow that further aggression would be costly.