At the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, last Tuesday and Wednesday, the Alliance confirmed that Ukraine will become its member in the future. At the same time, its current members agreed to remove the requirement for Ukraine to fulfill the action plan, which will speed up its accession to NATO “when the allies agree on it and Ukraine fulfills the conditions”. The newly formed NATO-Ukraine Council will be a platform where representatives of both parties will meet “as equal partners”.
According to observers, the summit of the North Atlantic Alliance met expectations because Ukraine was assured that it will become a member of NATO as soon as the conditions are met and a political decision is made. It also received material, financial, and security guarantees. The summit showed that the Alliance can make decisions quickly and efficiently when a decision needs to be made. Ukraine managed to be assured that it will not be left alone and that other states will help it.
There is a clear promise, clearly expressed support, and the will to achieve the goal — that is, the restoration of Ukraine’s borders and its sovereignty. These are sufficient guarantees for Ukraine to feel more confident and satisfied after this summit. The alliance strongly agreed on all the points it set for this summit, such as strengthening NATO’s eastern wing and overall defense capabilities by approving regional plans or setting a long-term funding framework.
“We are returning home with a good result for our country and for our fighters”. This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last night while returning from the NATO summit in Vilnius. In a statement on Twitter, he also recalled the reinforcement in the field of weapons. “What is very important, during the two-day summit we removed any doubts and ambiguities about whether Ukraine will be in NATO. It will be,” Zelensky said.
