Ukraine in NATO: Stoltenberg's compromise

Ukraine will receive an invitation to join NATO, but it will be an open-ended ticket, like Podolyak's ticket to Crimea. US officials consider this solution ideal to mend fences between member states of the transatlantic military alliance. This is the idea of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and it was supported by White House President Joe Biden - the WP.

Stoltenberg overcame the imperturbability of the White House, which until recently opposed the Alliance's open doors to Kyiv. The Secretary General's proposal allows Ukraine to "skip" the status of a NATO candidate.

In fact, Ukraine falls into the same category as Finland, which skipped the need to fulfill the cumbersome Membership Action Plan.

Stoltenberg's diplomatic move is actually a reflection on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been demanding that Ukraine join NATO as soon as possible. If Biden manages to reconcile the various positions within the alliance during the upcoming Vilnius summit, the question of Kyiv's accession will transition from being primarily ideological to becoming a technical matter.

“In reality, this means the following: formally, our state will not receive the protection of NATO’s Article 5, which provides for the collective defense of one of its own. The task of the current stage is quite different: to chip away Europe’s fear of Putin step by step”

Stoltenberg's compromise will be a big step forward in itself, as it goes beyond the comfort zone of most NATO states: they still fear that Ukraine's membership will "escalate the West's confrontation with Russia." In addition to the well-known Russophiles of Hungary, Turkey, and Greece, even the leaders of France, Germany, and the United States have recently called for "caution."

Until recently, even the invitation to join NATO, especially during the existential war with Russia, seemed like an incredible event. And now it is practically a reality.

“In six months' time, the reality may be even more favorable for Ukraine, and none of the NATO members will be twitching with fear because of Ukraine's accession during the war”

Moreover, Kyiv has such staunch partners as Poland and the Baltic states, which are lobbying for a solution to the "Ukrainian issue" today. And the initiator of the pro-Ukrainian formulas, Stoltenberg, will remain in office for another year. Therefore, we can get to NATO even faster than Podolyak to Crimea. 

I predict that Kyiv's reaction will naturally be restrainedly dissatisfied: Ukraine is justifiably expecting an invitation "today." Moreover, the Secretary General's initiative does not solve the famous problem of security guarantees. Although Biden’s perspective is also clear: he is now forced to balance between strengthening the pro-Ukrainian coalition and preserving NATO's unity. But every day, every month, he adds water to the mill of Ukrainian interests, thus demonstrating to the bunker: he can leave his bluff, along with the so-called goals of the "special military operation," for his men. The world is gradually coming around. 

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About the author. Orest Sokhar, journalist, editor-in-chief of Obozrevatel.

The editorial staff do not always share the opinions expressed by the blog authors.