Ukraine gains clarity, not timetable, at NATO summit

NATO reaffirmed its vision that Ukraine would become a
member of the organization, and that a Membership Action Plan (MAP) would be an
instrument in that process. In a communique issued after the summit in Brussels
on June 14, NATO stated that the Annual National Programmes under the
NATO-Ukraine Commission “would remain the mechanism under which Ukraine takes
forward” the reforms needed for NATO membership.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published a thank
you on the presidential administration’s website, but noted that, “at the same
time, the decision of this year’s Summit lacks specific time frames for the
next steps in our rapprochement with NATO, which we expected”.

The web posting comes after a tweet on the same day by
Zelensky, which thanked NATO for the recognition that Ukraine will become a
NATO member, but without the mention of the lack of timeline. According to
politico.com, the tweet, which some feared would sound as if NATO accession were
just around the corner, led to U.S. President Joe Biden delaying his press
conference by two hours while the situation was sorted out and a response
formulated.

In his press conference on June 14, Biden made it
clear that Ukraine would need to continue with substantial reforms before it
could receive a MAP. Moreover, the primary issue was one of corruption within
Ukraine. Biden also stated that the lack of territorial integrity would not
prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.

Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated on June 14
that Ukraine joining NATO would be unacceptable; NATO Secretary General Jens
Stoltenberg repeated that Russia had no say in this decision.

James Hydzik: The results of the NATO summit look good for Ukraine, overall. Support
is being reaffirmed and strengthened, and in particular, NATO and Ukraine will
deepen cooperation on handling hybrid warfare. The fact that a MAP was not
offered was no surprise. However, the fact that there are still divisions
within NATO regarding Ukraine’s path forward came with the issue of the tweet,
if Politico is correct. The tweet did select lines from the official
communique, but was not in error, and only a selective reading of the tweet
could cause an issue. Given Germany’s recent refusal to sell even military
radios to Ukraine due it acting as a mediator in the Normandy Four negotiations
(though the French are willing to do so), the problem seems to be centered
there.