2023-07-10 14:56:16
Illustrative photo: canva.com
At the summit in Vilnius on July 11-12, 48 delegations from NATO member countries and partners are expected. The meeting will be attended by about 2,400 members and 40 heads of state. This is the first time a meeting of this magnitude has been held in Lithuania.
Negotiations on the terms of Ukraine’s path to NATO are ongoing, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, but he has not yet confirmed that the bloc has agreed to exempt Ukraine from the implementation of the Membership Action Plan (MAP).
“Consultations are ongoing and all meetings will take place today, but I am sure that all allies will agree on a very clear message,” the NATO chief told a press conference in Vilnius on Monday after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced that the allies had reached a consensus regarding the exclusion of the requirement for a MAP in NATO from the roadmap for Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance.. – As for Ukraine, the final decision has not been made yet, I am sure that we will achieve unity and we will have a strong message on Ukraine.”
Stoltenberg reiterated that negotiations are currently underway on a multi-year program of assistance to Ukraine to ensure full coherence between the actions of Ukrainian and NATO forces, as well as the creation of an Alliance-Ukraine Council.
The third element, he said, is “abolishing the MAP requirement for Ukraine, replacing the two-stage process with a one-stage one.”
“Now these elements and this package are being discussed, finalized, there are discussions and negotiations on specific phrases. Therefore, I will not go into details of what the allies are discussing,” the head of NATO said.
Meanwhile, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that the rejection of the MAP “is an important change in a positive sense and will certainly shorten Ukraine’s path to NATO membership.”
According to him, it is also important for Vilnius to hear a clear signal that Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance will be possible as soon as conditions permit.
The NATO Secretary General met with the President of Lithuania in Vilnius on the eve of the Alliance’s summit.
BNS
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