Will Ukraine finally get into NATO?

[argonsagas]

After 14 years NATO appears to be moving towards acceptance of Ukraine....

From Reuters



OSLO, June 1 (Reuters) - Moscow cannot stop Ukraine from becoming a NATO member, the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, as divisions among allies about the speed of Kyiv's accession became apparent only weeks before a decisive mid-July summit in Vilnius.

"All allies agree that Moscow does not have a veto against NATO enlargement," Stoltenberg told reporters as NATO foreign ministers gathered in Oslo, seeking to dispel any signs of discord ahead of the summit.


"We are moving, allies agree that Ukraine will become a member."

NATO agreed in 2008 that Ukraine would eventually join the alliance but leaders have so far stopped short of taking steps, such as giving Kyiv a membership action plan, that would lay out a timetable for bringing Ukraine closer to the military pact.

At the Vilnius summit, NATO leaders aim to send a strong message of support to Kyiv. But with only six weeks to go, pressure is building for allies to find common ground on what exactly to offer Ukraine.


While Kyiv and its closest allies in eastern Europe call for concrete steps to bring Ukraine closer to membership, Western governments such as the United States and Germany are wary of any move that might take the alliance closer to war with Russia.

Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said Kyiv had suffered two invasions while waiting for an answer from NATO for 14 years.

"It is high time that we actually sit down and find a very concrete answer as to how Ukraine is going to move closer to NATO and when they become a member of the alliance," he said.

His call was echoed by his Estonian counterpart who urged allies to offer Kyiv a clear path into NATO and provide it with strong security guarantees after the war, in order not to leave any "grey zones" for Russia to exploit.

"Ukraine needs to get a clear path, and the next steps, on how to enter NATO," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said.


Stoltenberg also called for a framework of security guarantees for Kyiv designed to stop Russia from again taking military action against the country.

Other allies such as Germany and Luxembourg stressed the risks should NATO rush to let Kyiv join.

"NATO's open door policy remains in place, but at the same time it is clear that we cannot talk about accepting new members (who are) in the midst of a war," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.

Luxembourg's Jean Asselborn warned NATO's mutual assistance clause meant the alliance would enter the war with Russia if it accepted Ukraine as a member while the fighting goes on.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking at a meeting of more than 40 European leaders in Moldova, reiterated Kyiv's readiness to join NATO.

[RichDesmond]

Personally, I think NATO membership is something that will get negotiated away in the final settlement of this war. What Ukraine will get is a fast track to EU membership and a set of security guarantees. But renouncing NATO membership will give the Russians something they can market as a win to their people.

[Suzukian]

Here we go again. A question nobody has the answer too. Why bother. The U.S. took Ukraine's Nukes and we agreed to protect them.

[LAB3]

"NATO's open door policy remains in place, but at the same time it is clear that we cannot talk about accepting new members (who are) in the midst of a war," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.

Luxembourg's Jean Asselborn warned NATO's mutual assistance clause meant the alliance would enter the war with Russia if it accepted Ukraine as a member while the fighting goes on.

There's the sticking point right there.

[Suzukian]

Words, we are at War with Russia, and getting ready for a possible war with China. The writing is on the wall. China is watching closely. If they try to invade Taiwan, WW3 (or 4) depending on how you look at it, will begin. We have ("NATO" does) in Ukraine, training them, way over on the western side.

If you aren't at war with a country, you don't send the opposing side billions of dollars worth of fighting equipment, seize the accounts of their enemy. We aren't the world police, this is called WAR. After Russia is decimated, the Ukraine will become part of NATO. Putin is now talking about the existential well being of Russian, quite different than will run over the Ukraine in two weeks. People seem to forget it was the Ukraine that was the industrial center of the Soviet Union. They are repurposing tanks they chased the Russians out of, and make Troop carriers out of some of them. Their production capability is awesome. They are designing and fielding their own missiles. Putin and his ilk could be taken out today, but Russia would still have to pay reparations to the Ukraine. Putin better be having existential thoughts.