Biden supports Ukraine's accession to NATO without MAP

An informed source told CNN.

According to the report, Biden is willing to drop the requirement for Ukraine to fulfill the Membership Action Plan (MAP), provided for in the 2008 agreement.

The MAP is described as "the program of advice, assistance and practical support tailored to the individual needs of countries wishing to join the Alliance" and is the process that all countries must go through to join NATO.

The MAP’s removal means some relief for Ukraine in the NATO accession process, the agency said.

The source confirmed that the proposal to cancel the MAP stage came from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a meeting with Biden in Washington earlier this week.

At the same time, the US still does not consider Ukraine's accession to the Alliance to be a fully resolved matter, as Kyiv still needs to implement a number of fundamental reforms.

Ukraine's NATO membership:

A meeting of NATO countries will happen in Vilnius in July. Ukraine hopes to receive clear decisions about joining the Alliance. On May 23, Ukraine's ambassador to NATO, Natalia Galibarenko, mentioned that Ukraine is preparing two cooperation plans (political and practical) to discuss during the NATO summit.

On May 30, Dmytro Kuleba presented "three steps for a successful Vilnius summit": strengthening Ukraine-NATO ties, progressing towards Ukraine's NATO membership, and providing security guarantees on Ukraine's path to NATO. 

On June 10, Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine, Volodymyr Havrylov, expressed his belief that the July NATO summit in Vilnius will establish the process for Ukraine's entry into the Alliance.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that Ukraine will become a NATO member in the future, but due to the ongoing war, specific dates for accession cannot be determined. However, he is confident that during the Vilnius summit, the member countries will work towards finding a solution regarding Ukraine's progress.

On June 15, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for Ukraine's membership in NATO with 425 votes in favor.

On June 16, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on NATO chief Stoltenberg to drop the MAP if Ukraine joins NATO.