Ukraine’s Relationship with NATO May Be Upgraded at Upcoming Summit

Estonia plans on pushing the North Atlantic alliance to present Ukraine with a clear path to full membership in the bloc during an upcoming meeting of high-ranking officials. Bloomberg reports NATO will consider upgrading Kiev’s status with the alliance.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna explained Tallinn will bring the subject of membership up at the NATO summit in Lithuania this summer. “We must move forward to give a strong message,” he said. “It’s not enough anymore just to repeat the already existing position that Ukraine is welcomed to NATO.”

Ukraine was put on the path to NATO membership at the 2008 Bucharest summit. However, Moscow reacted sharply to the proposal, and views Kiev’s membership in the alliance as an existential threat. For the past 15 years, NATO officials have stressed that the door to joining is “open” but have refused to admit Kiev into the bloc. 

Ukrainian Ambassador to NATO Natalia Galibarenko says the current NATO policy “is not enough anymore.” “We understand that NATO cannot name the exact date of future membership for Ukraine. However, just another confirmation of the ‘open door’ policy is not enough anymore.” Galibarenko continued, “it is high time to define a clear path to membership for our country.”

Tsahkna suggested that Ukraine could be given an upgraded status short of membership. “The most clear and the only opportunity to give the real guarantee for Ukraine after the war is NATO membership,” he remarked. The Estonian diplomat told Bloomberg that Kiev could be given security guarantees from the alliance during the July summit. 

NATO head Jen Stoltenberg noted that Ukraine’s membership status will be on the table at the upcoming gathering. “The Vilnius Summit will be important for many reasons…President [Volodymyr Zelensky] will raise the issue of membership, of security guarantees, and this will be high on the agenda of the meeting. He added, “Ukraine’s future is in NATO. All Allies agree on that.”

Stoltenberg went on to explain that Kiev will not receive membership at the Vilnius Summit, and the alliance’s focus is on arming Ukraine. “The main focus of the Alliance, of NATO Allies now, is to ensure that Ukraine prevails,” he said. 

At a recent press conference, Spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre refused to say if the White House will support Ukraine’s ascension to the alliance at the upcoming summit. She explained President Joe Biden’s position is that it is up to the alliance members to decide if Kiev joins. Jean-Pierre added that the focus of the administration is providing arms to Ukraine.