NATO chief defends Ukraine’s by-the-book membership path

WASHINGTON and COLOGNE, Germany — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday defended the alliance’s stance on an eventual membership for Ukraine, just as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lamented the lack of a specific timeline.

“We all agree that the most imminent task now is to ensure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation in Europe,” Stoltenberg told reporters after the first day of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. “So the most important thing we can do is to continue to provide weapons, ammunition [and] military support to Ukraine, because unless Ukraine prevails as a nation, as a democratic nation in Europe, there is no issue to be discussed about security guarantees or membership in NATO at all.”

Stoltenberg’s comments came after Zelenskyy called the summit’s final communiqué language “absurd” in a tweet on Tuesday afternoon. The Ukrainian president made clear he was expecting a concrete time frame for when Ukraine would be formally invited to be a member of NATO.

According to the Washington Post , an anonymous person familiar with the situation claims the U.S. delegation was furious with Zelenskyy’s tweet.

Stoltenberg said no country has ever been offered such a time frame for membership, saying all applicants must meet NATO conditions and garner unanimous allied support.

“If you look at all the membership processes, there have not been timelines for those processes,” Stoltenberg said. “They are condition-based, have always been.”

He outlined three steps the alliance would take to pave the way for an eventual Ukrainian membership. The first element is a multi-tiered program to help transition Ukraine to Western military equipment and provide assistance in rebuilding their defense sector.

The second is a new NATO-Ukraine Council where Ukraine and NATO will “meet as equals” and discuss strategic objectives, Stoltenberg said. This group is set to have its inaugural meeting July 12, the second and final day of the NATO summit, with Zelenskyy expected to attend.

The third element is removing the alliance’s formal membership action plan requirement — which constitutes a lengthy, wholesale examination of military and civilian compatibilities with alliance members — to quicken the accession process.

Additionally, Ukraine’s NATO membership hinges on conditions related to good governance and anti-corruption policies, according to Stoltenberg.

Perhaps most importantly, Stoltenberg noted ongoing combat with invader Russia prohibits membership at this time. The point reflects a longstanding fear among Ukraine’s Western backers that the war could spill over to NATO if the alliance were to put the full weight of its security guarantees on the table before a peace agreement is reached.

“We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met,” reads the summit’s final communiqué.

Georgina DiNardo is an editorial fellow for Military Times and Defense News and a recent graduate of American University, specializing in journalism, psychology, and photography in Washington, D.C.

Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.

华盛顿和德国科隆——周二，北约秘书长延斯·斯托尔滕贝格为北约最终接纳乌克兰加入的立场进行了辩护，与此同时，乌克兰总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基对缺乏具体时间表表示遗憾。

“我们一致认为，当前最紧迫的任务是确保乌克兰作为一个主权独立的国家在欧洲立足，”斯托尔滕贝格在立陶宛维尔纽斯举行的北约峰会首日结束后对记者表示。“因此，我们最重要的工作是继续向乌克兰提供武器、弹药和军事支持，因为除非乌克兰作为一个国家、一个民主国家在欧洲立足，否则根本无从讨论安全保障或北约成员国资格等问题。”

斯托尔滕贝格发表上述评论之前，泽连斯基周二下午在推特上称峰会最终公报的措辞“荒谬”。这位乌克兰总统明确表示，他希望得到一个具体的时间表，说明何时正式邀请乌克兰加入北约。

据《华盛顿邮报》报道，一位匿名知情人士称，美国代表团对泽连斯基的推文感到愤怒。

斯托尔滕贝格表示，没有任何国家曾被给予过如此长的入盟期限，并称所有申请者都必须满足北约的条件并获得盟国的一致支持。

斯托尔滕贝格说：“如果你看一下所有的会员申请流程，就会发现这些流程都没有设定时间表。它们都是根据具体情况而定的，一直都是如此。”

他概述了联盟将采取的三项步骤，为乌克兰最终加入联盟铺平道路。第一步是实施一项多层次计划，帮助乌克兰过渡到西方军事装备，并援助其重建国防部门。

斯托尔滕贝格表示，第二个举措是成立新的北约-乌克兰理事会，乌克兰和北约将“平等会面”，讨论战略目标。该理事会定于7月12日举行首次会议，当天也是北约峰会的第二天，预计泽连斯基将出席。

第三个要素是取消联盟的正式成员行动计划要求——该要求包括对与联盟成员的军事和民事兼容性进行冗长、全面的审查——以加快加入进程。

斯托尔滕贝格表示，此外，乌克兰能否加入北约取决于其是否具备良好的治理和反腐败政策。

或许最重要的是，斯托尔滕贝格指出，目前与侵略者俄罗斯的持续战斗使乌克兰无法加入北约。这一点反映了乌克兰西方支持者长期以来的担忧，即如果北约在达成和平协议之前就动用其全部安全保障，战争可能会蔓延到北约内部。

峰会的最终公报写道：“当盟国同意且条件满足时，我们将能够向乌克兰发出加入该联盟的邀请。”

乔治娜·迪纳尔多是《军事时报》和《防务新闻》的编辑助理，也是美国大学的应届毕业生，主修新闻学、心理学和摄影，目前在华盛顿特区就读。

塞巴斯蒂安·斯普伦格是《防务新闻》欧洲版副主编，负责报道该地区的防务市场状况，以及美欧在防务和全球安全领域的合作和多国投资。此前，他曾担任《防务新闻》执行主编。他现居德国科隆。