Ukraine’s hopes of getting a clearer path to joining NATO may be disappointed, dpa reports.

Jens Stoltenberg with Volodymyr Zelensky in 2021Photo: JOHN THYS / AFP / Profimedia

Members of the Western military alliance, including the US and Germany, recently made it clear behind closed doors that they do not want to make any commitments that would go far beyond NATO’s statement at the 2008 summit.

At the time, the heads of state and government agreed that Ukraine and Georgia should join NATO, but there was no schedule or road map, the German news agency recalled on Tuesday.

At the time, the U.S. demanded that NATO provide Ukraine with a concrete accession timetable, the so-called Accession Action Plan, but France and Germany rejected the request, fearing that such an approach could provoke Russia.

  • Why does the US oppose a clear timetable for Ukraine’s accession to NATO

Zelensky asked for an invitation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently called on NATO to pave the way for his country to join the alliance at the upcoming summit in July, saying Ukraine should receive a “deserved invitation.”

The Ukrainian military, Zelenskyi claimed, contributes more to Euro-Atlantic security than others.

“I am grateful for the invitation to participate in the summit, but it is also important that Ukraine receives a corresponding invitation. There is no objective obstacle to making a political decision to invite Ukraine to the alliance, and now, when the majority of people in NATO countries and the majority of Ukrainians support NATO membership, the time has come for appropriate decisions,” the President said. of Ukraine.

  • VIDEO Zelensky asked Stoltenberg, who is in Kyiv, about the timetable for joining NATO

Allies’ reservations about a specific accession plan

But opponents of a concrete membership plan say that goal is unrealistic now and could distract from much more important and immediate military support for Ukraine as it defends itself against a Russian invasion, some diplomats said.

In addition, there is the perceived risk that a new push for NATO could give Russia an argument for a more aggressive war.

On the occasion of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s visit to Kyiv two weeks ago, Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov said, citing Agerpres, that Ukraine’s accession to the North Atlantic Alliance would mean “a serious danger, significant for our country.”

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