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This could be NATO's plan for Ukraine. Not membership but ‘protection’ from…
Turkey finally dropped its veto to Swedish membership for NATO which the alliance's secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg called a “historic step”.
Ukraine is set to be offered “Israel-style” security guarantees by its most powerful Western military allies, Telegraph reported. UK, US, France and Germany will commit to a long-term plan to arm Kyiv to defend itself from Russian aggression, the report claimed as talks over the assurances were ongoing ahead of NATO's annual summit in Lithuania.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to be present at the summit where he is reportedly planning to hold a meeting with US president Joe Biden. This comes as Turkey finally dropped its veto to Swedish membership for NATO which the alliance's secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg called a “historic step” after talks with Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ahead of the summit.
“A new defence scheme for Ukraine would create a legally binding pledge to continue existing military support for Kyiv, said diplomats involved in the discussions. There would also be promises on training for Ukrainian troops, intelligence-sharing and assistance with bringing Kyiv’s armed forces in line with NATO standards,” the report claims.
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“The offer stops short of a timetable for full Nato membership, requested by Ukraine but blocked by the US and Germany. However, the guarantees, underpinned by four of Nato’s biggest military powers, will be offered to Ukraine as a stepping stone to membership,” it added.
Israel is not part of the military alliance but the US provides close to $4 billion annually to help with country's “qualitative military edge”- under a memorandum of understanding that is renewed every decade.
UK PM Rishi Sunak encouraged NATO to “come together like never before in support of Ukraine and with firm determination that Russia cannot succeed”.
“That is work we need to continue this week. We cannot let the fog of war obscure the clear lessons our alliance must learn if we are going to outpace and outmanoeuvre those who seek to do us harm," he said.
Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said that NATO allies had agreed to waive the membership action plan usually required of prospective allies.
“It is also the best moment to offer clarity on the invitation to Ukraine to become a member,” he said while Zelensky said that he does not expect Ukraine to join NATO before the war is over, but believes membership is the only guarantee Russia will not launch a new invasion in the future.
Ukraine’s army would make NATO significantly stronger and reduce the burden on existing allies, he said.
