NATO leaders did not specify the conditions Ukraine needs to meet, but they said the alliance would help Ukraine to make progress on military interoperability.
KEY POINTS
- NATO leaders refused to hand Ukraine an invitation or timetable for accession to the alliance.
- The declaration said NATO would extend an invitation to Ukraine “when allies agree and conditions are met.”
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had earlier said it was “absurd” NATO was not offering a timeframe.
NATO leaders have agreed that Ukraine’s future lies within the alliance but they stopped short of handing the country the invitation or timetable for accession it sought, a stance that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had earlier criticised as “absurd”.
The leaders met at a summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius as a Ukrainian counteroffensive against the Russian invasion forces occupying parts of the country was proceeding more slowly than its allies had hoped.
“Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” the declaration said.
“We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy questions lack of NATO timeframe
Zelenskyy had earlier criticised NATO leaders for not offering a timeframe for membership.
Zelenskyy’s salvo at the start of a summit came after NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the bloc would send Ukraine a “positive message” on its path to membership.
It highlighted the divisions among NATO’s 31 members over giving a date or a straightforward invitation for Ukraine to join.
The declaration said: “We reaffirm our unwavering solidarity with the government and people of Ukraine in the heroic defence of their nation, their land and our shared values.”
Asked about Zelenskyy’s criticism, Stoltenberg told a press conference: “There has never been a stronger message from NATO at any time, both when it comes to the political message of the path forward for membership and the concrete support from NATO allies.”
He said previous accessions to NATO had not been accompanied by a timeline.
