NATO backs Ukraine’s ‘irreversible’ path to membership, but both remain ‘bridge’ apart

NATO leaders backed Ukraine’s “irreversible” path into the Western military alliance as expected on Wednesday (10 July), but stopped short of providing a concrete timetable and framework.

“As Ukraine continues this vital work, we will continue to support it on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership,” said the leaders’ final communiqué after weeks of haggling over the text.

However, they repeated language from previous years that an invitation would come “when the Allies agree and conditions are met”, as the United States and Germany had specifically requested.

“The work we are doing together now will ensure that when the time is right, Ukraine can join without delay. It is not a question of if, but when,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters after the meeting.

NATO’s long-term effort to help Ukraine is to provide it with a “bridge” to NATO so that it can one day become a full member of the Alliance, the leaders wrote in their communiqué.

‘Irreversible’ path

The wording had already been used in Vilnius, where NATO leaders made clear that the invitation to join would be conditional on democratic reform, control of the army and an end to the war.

“We have an incredibly robust package that will be unveiled over the next couple of days at NATO that builds a very clear, strong, robust, well-lit bridge to NATO membership for Ukraine,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told an audience at the Washington Convention Center.

For Ukraine, the metaphor of a “bridge”, “well-lit bridge”, or other variations of the phrase is still far from a commitment to full membership, which Kyiv has been seeking since 2008.

For Kyiv, the pledge that its journey is “irreversible” is not a guarantee as they see the wording as an opening for the process to be potentially easily slowed down by any NATO member that might want to add new conditions. But it is an inch closer than last year.

“I don’t think that the ‘bridge’ should be seen in any way any of other signal than that Ukraine will become part of NATO when the conditions are fulfilled,” Swedish Defence Minister Pål Jonson, attending his first summit as a full member, told Euractiv.

But as NATO’s newest member, Sweden spent more than a year in the club’s waiting room, while Turkey requested the country make changes to its anti-terrorism laws and allow the sale of defence equipment to Ankara, proving that the membership process is anything but political and subject to members’ wishes.

“What we’ve been looking for is the end goal of the bridge,” Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told an audience at the Washington Convention Center.

“[This would be] a clear commitment that we are serious about the invitation to Ukraine,” he added.

For several NATO diplomats who spoke to Euractiv, the language of the text will not fundamentally change the fact that NATO is not yet ready to admit Ukraine as a full member of the club.

“Actions speak at least as loud as words,” Stoltenberg said.

NATO’s Ukraine package

In a move to help Ukraine on its way to joining the Western military alliance, NATO members pledged to help reform and modernise its armed forces so that Ukraine is as ready as possible to join when the time is right.

They say this will be a “bridge” to the membership, as previously reported by Euractiv.

More specifically, this “bridge” consists of sustained military support for the war-torn country, at least €40 billion, the same level as the previous two years, mainly in the form of Western equipment.

This pledge aims to “build a force capable of defeating Russian aggression today and deterring it tomorrow”, Stoltenberg said.

It also includes institutionalising the coordination of supplies and training schedules under the NATO umbrella to protect the assistance from changes in government in member states, especially in the United States.

After long discussions, it will be called NSATU, for NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine.

“We will support Ukraine by planning and coordinating, coordinating donations and will manage the transfer and repair of equipment. We will also provide support to the long-term development of Ukraine’s armed forces,” Stoltenberg also said.

“This will not make NATO party to the conflict, but it will help Ukraine to uphold its right to self-defence,” Stoltenberg added,

These political promises are also expected to go hand in hand with a ramping up of defence industry production, with the allies promising to come up with national plans to expand capacity to meet the needs of Ukraine and its backers, Euractiv reported.

[Edited by Daniel Eck] 

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