NATO member states have stated that Ukraine can join the military alliance "when allies agree and conditions are met," in response to President Volodymyr Zelensky's criticism of the delay in accession, which he described as "absurd." In a communique, NATO acknowledged the need to expedite the process but refrained from providing a specific timeframe, BBC reports.
President Zelensky, who is currently in Vilnius, Lithuania for the summit, expressed his disappointment, noting a perceived lack of readiness to invite Ukraine to join NATO. While Ukraine acknowledges that it cannot join NATO while in conflict with Russia, it aims to become a member as soon as possible after the fighting ceases.
During a briefing, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that allies had reaffirmed Ukraine's future membership and agreed to eliminate the requirement for a formal membership action plan, streamlining the process into a single step. However, President Zelensky voiced concern that the absence of an agreed timeframe could result in Ukraine's membership becoming a bargaining chip in negotiations with Russia, referring to the uncertainty as a weakness.
The issue of Ukrainian membership in NATO has led to disagreements among member states. Some fear that granting Ukraine near-automatic membership could incentivize Russia to escalate and prolong the conflict that arose from its invasion of Ukraine.
NATO's communique acknowledged Ukraine's increasing interoperability and political integration with the alliance, as well as its progress in implementing reforms. Member states pledged to support further reforms in Ukraine.
Stoltenberg is scheduled to meet President Zelensky at the inaugural meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council on Wednesday. The summit took place a day after Turkey withdrew its opposition to Sweden's accession to NATO, following months of blocking Sweden's application on accusations of hosting Kurdish militants. With Sweden's inclusion, NATO will have 32 members, and Finland joined the alliance in April.
At the summit, a series of military packages for Ukraine were announced. Eleven nations will collaborate to train Ukrainian pilots in flying US-made F-16 fighter jets at a training center set to be established in Romania in August. This move comes after the US approved the supply of advanced jets to Ukraine, including the sought-after F-16s, to enhance Ukraine's military capabilities in its ongoing counter-offensive against Russia.
However, experts caution that training Ukrainian pilots to operate Western jets will take time. Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu warned that Russia would be compelled to use similar weapons if the US supplied controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine. Cluster munitions disperse bomblets over a wide area and are banned by over 100 countries due to their impact on civilians. Shoigu stated that Russia possesses similar weapons but has refrained from deploying them thus far.
Human rights groups claim that both Russia and Ukraine have already used cluster munitions during the 17-month-long conflict since Russia's invasion in February.
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