NATO did not invite Ukraine to join the summit in Vilnius

NATO countries have decided not to invite Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Alliance at their July summit in Vilnius, but they are discussing the possibility of increasing cooperation with Kyiv and potentially setting a timeline for its accession to the military bloc.

This was reported by The Washington Post on Sunday.

According to the publication, which cites official sources, "Despite Kyiv's calls, there is a consensus among the 31 members of the alliance that NATO will not send Ukraine a formal invitation to join during the July 11-12 meeting."

According to the newspaper, "Eastern European countries are pushing for concrete steps toward this goal, including potential commitments on the timing of Ukraine's accession, while the United States and some Western European states are advocating smaller steps." As the article specifies, "these could include a bureaucratic upgrade to the NATO-Ukraine body or a decision to further expand NATO technical support to Ukraine's defense sector."

The publication reports that Baltic officials have suggested that the North Atlantic Alliance "issue a formal invitation to Ukraine to join" NATO or begin the process of "setting a time frame or certain conditions" for this. According to the article, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky also spoke in favor of Ukraine being "provided with an actual path" to NATO.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 16/05/2023