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NATO Allies Seek to Resolve Divisions on Ukraine Membership
(Bloomberg) -- NATO countries are making progress on developing a set of security commitments for Ukraine following Russia’s war as members of the defense alliance remain divided over how to help Kyiv gain membership.
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Allies agree Ukraine won’t become a member as long as the war continues. At issue is how to provide Kyiv with a more concrete promise that goes beyond what the North Atlantic Treaty Organization agreed in 2008 — that Ukraine will eventually join.
Defense ministers from the bloc sought to project a united front as they started a two-day meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
“The one thing we have to avoid is exactly what Russian President Vladimir Putin wants - that we are separated,” Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told reporters ahead of the gathering. “NATO is united and will be united also in this decision,” he said referring to the membership discussions.
Separately from the NATO discussions, the so-called Quad countries — France, Germany, the UK and the US — are discussing bilateral security arrangements for Ukraine after the war ends, according to a senior European diplomat who asked not to be named on confidential talks.
NATO countries are trying to hash out a position on membership ahead of a leaders’ summit in Vilnius in July, when they are due to sign off on a broader package of long-term support for Ukraine. Countries are grappling with how to deepen ties with Kyiv without immediately making Ukraine a member, given that the bloc’s mutual defense clause could draw allies into Russia’s war against the country.
Eastern European nations but also France are in favor of giving Ukraine with a more detailed road map to membership. But the US and Germany have resisted providing firm pledges, focusing instead on immediate aid to fend off the invasion since membership wouldn’t happen while the war is ongoing, according to diplomats.
Germany’s Boris Pistorius told reporters at the Brussels meeting that he “didn’t understand the criticism that we are putting on the brakes here.”
“We all agree that the future of Ukraine lies in NATO. That’s totally clear,” Pistorius said. “But there’s also general agreement that this cannot happen as long as there’s a war on Ukrainian territory.” He added that “right now the main issue is the continuing support for Ukraine.”
The NATO ministers were due to discuss ramping up industrial production, defense spending goals as well as the situation in Ukraine. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who is also present, was expected to address his country’s desire to join.
Security Assurances
The bilateral security assurances will likely take the form of commitments to ensure Ukraine’s armed forces are well-equipped and well-trained, as proposed in a report by former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and the Ukrainian President’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak, according to the senior European diplomat.
The group of allies is trying to carefully craft language that doesn’t suggest mutual defense commitments, the diplomat added. In addition to continued military support, the overall arrangements would likely also include economic support and help rebuilding the country after the war.
NATO is also working to agree to a new defense spending pledge at Vilnius, as its’ current goal for allies to “move toward” spending 2% of GDP expires next year. While NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on allies to agree to spending a minimum of 2% immediately, some countries are still resisting the commitment.
--With assistance from Katharina Rosskopf, Niclas Rolander and Arne Delfs.
(Updates with Germany’s Pistorius in eight and ninth paragraphs)
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