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Nato leaders are discussing a pledge to “extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met”, people familiar with the discussions told the Financial Times, signalling Kyiv’s progress towards membership of the alliance.
The draft statement being discussed by officials at a summit dominated by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine would state that Kyiv’s “future is in Nato” without providing a timeline for its accession, the people said, stressing that the text could change before being agreed by all members.
The issue of how to acknowledge Ukraine’s membership ambitions as it defends itself against Russian aggression has exposed divides between the US-led military alliance in weeks of intense negotiations, with the US and Germany wary about implying that Kyiv’s membership is inevitable without conditions attached.
On the other side, mainly eastern members, with the backing of France and the UK, had called for the word “invitation” to be included in the statement and for an acknowledgment that it would be a political, not technical decision to invite Ukraine to join, to show that the alliance was preparing for the country’s entry process.
The draft text also states that allies “recognise that Ukraine’s path to full Euro-Atlantic integration” has moved “beyond the need for the membership action plan”, referring to Nato’s formal accession process.
It also notes that Kyiv has “made substantial progress” on reforms, said the people, all of whom declined to be identified as the discussions are private.
Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary-general, said at the start of the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Tuesday that he believed “allies will send a clear, united and positive message on the path towards membership for Ukraine”, adding that he expected the statement to be “made public within hours”.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that Nato allies “will send a united positive signal on Ukraine’s path to future membership in the alliance”.
Nato agreed in 2008 that Ukraine “will become” a member, but provided no timeline or accession process.
All member states agree that Ukraine cannot join the alliance while the war is ongoing, given that would trigger Nato’s Article 5 mutual defence clause and bring all members into the conflict.
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