Western security commitments ‘blur’ Ukraine NATO membership debate
4 Min Read
Estonia's prime minister calls for 'concrete actions' toward Kiev's accession.
-
Prime Minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Tallinn, Estonia, Wednesday, June 22, 2022. (AP)
Estonia's prime minister, Kaja Kallas, has advised Western countries not to "blur" the debate over Ukraine's NATO membership application ahead of the military alliance's summit next week by relying on bilateral security guarantees.
NATO is split on whether to offer Ukraine a postwar path to membership at next week's conference in Vilnius. At the same time, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union are planning to supply Kiev with "security commitments" to help the country defend itself in lieu of alliance membership.
"We need practical, concrete steps on the path to Nato membership," Kallas told the Financial Times. "I have the feeling that talking about security guarantees actually blurs the picture . . . the only security guarantee that really works and is much cheaper than anything else is NATO membership.”
Read next: Ukraine's NATO accession cannot begin during war: Czech President
She urged her counterparts not to back down in the face of alleged "terrorist" intimidation from Russia, saying that Euro-Atlantic security will be incomplete unless Ukraine joins the mutual defense treaty.
The prospective obligations being debated in Western capitals are mostly around codifying and committing a long-term continuance of help already granted to Ukraine in the areas of weaponry, finance, and training. According to Kallas, this is insufficient to discourage Russia from following through with the military operation.
"This is what we are doing right now," she said "but it doesn’t give you any other additional guarantees, the war will not be there when the deterrence is credible.”
NATO agreed in 2008 that Ukraine "would become" a member, but no timetable or path was offered. Allies are presently negotiating the wording of a summit declaration on Ukraine's future membership, with a rift between primarily eastern states seeking an ambitious vow and a group led by the US and Germany that is hesitant.
Read next: Kiev 'not seeking a substitute for NATO': Zelensky
“There is a majority who think that we have to find a practical way [forward],” Kallas explained, as “Grey zones are sources of conflict and war. So as long as those countries who want to join the alliance are not allowed to when they feel threatened, then I think that the whole [Euro-Atlantic security] picture is not complete.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that one goal of his military operation in Ukraine was to prevent the former Soviet republic from joining NATO, arguing that participation would allow the US to station weaponry in the nation and threaten Russia.
20 states support Kiev's accession
Earlier last month, Ihor Zhovkva, the Deputy Head of the Office of the Ukrainian President, said on June 11 that 20 NATO member countries have supported Ukraine's membership in the US-led military alliance, pending the approval, if any, of the remaining states.
Zhovkva confirmed on social media that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Kiev, during which the two sides signed a joint declaration.
"The joint declaration clearly registers Canada's support for Ukraine to become a member of NATO as soon as conditions permit," the Ukrainian official indicated.
The deputy head of Zelensky’s office considered that these developments were "another stage of preparation for the successful NATO Summit in Vilnius in July" for Ukraine.
He continued, "This is the strongest wording among all the G7 countries that are members of NATO," adding that the total number of countries that supported Ukraine's accession to NATO had reached 20.
Pending Kiev bid to NATO
Earlier in May, the Wall Street Journal reported that NATO's anticipated July summit in Lithuania will feature no progress on Kiev's bid to membership in the military alliance.
While the summit will include extensive proposals for increasing support to Kiev, Ukraine's long-desired bid for NATO membership is reportedly off the agenda.
The primary contestant of Ukraine's bid for NATO membership is Germany, the newspaper added.
Germany, unlike the UK and the US, argued that Ukraine's current conflict with a nuclear power makes it an unfavorable candidate for NATO. However, the paper explained that Kiev would be able to join the alliance in the future.
