Post by LFC on Jun 16, 2023 16:04:32 GMT
More aggressive pushing from NATO to bring Ukraine into the group. (archive link)
The United States is giving tentative backing to a plan that would remove barriers to Ukraine’s entry into NATO without setting a timeline for its admission, a modest step that American officials hope can bridge divisions among member nations over Kyiv’s path to joining the transatlantic military alliance.
A senior U.S. official said the Biden administration is “comfortable” with a proposal from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that would permit Ukraine to forgo a formal candidacy process that has been required of some nations, a move that could hasten its entry.
“This is a potential landing zone in this debate,” said the official, who like other officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive diplomatic discussions.
The NATO chief’s proposal, if accepted by all 31 members, would cap a polarizing debate about what to offer the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky — which has demanded Ukraine’s swift inclusion in NATO as it battles Russian invaders — when alliance leaders gather for a major summit next month in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Under the plan, NATO would declare that Ukraine can circumvent the alliance’s Membership Action Plan, a process in which candidate countries receive assessments and advice as they take steps to meet NATO criteria on defense and other matters. That would put Ukraine in a category with new member Finland, which skipped that step. North Macedonia, in contrast, took part in a two-decade MAP program before its 2020 entry.
But the proposal would still require Ukraine to carry out reforms and, contrary to the wishes of NATO members in Eastern Europe, it would not attach any time frame for Ukraine’s accession. U.S. officials said the proposal goes beyond the preferred course of NATO countries that fear that Ukrainian membership could intensify the West’s standoff with Russia. The senior official declined to name those countries, but officials from France, Germany and the United States have urged caution in the past.
A senior U.S. official said the Biden administration is “comfortable” with a proposal from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that would permit Ukraine to forgo a formal candidacy process that has been required of some nations, a move that could hasten its entry.
“This is a potential landing zone in this debate,” said the official, who like other officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive diplomatic discussions.
The NATO chief’s proposal, if accepted by all 31 members, would cap a polarizing debate about what to offer the government of President Volodymyr Zelensky — which has demanded Ukraine’s swift inclusion in NATO as it battles Russian invaders — when alliance leaders gather for a major summit next month in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Under the plan, NATO would declare that Ukraine can circumvent the alliance’s Membership Action Plan, a process in which candidate countries receive assessments and advice as they take steps to meet NATO criteria on defense and other matters. That would put Ukraine in a category with new member Finland, which skipped that step. North Macedonia, in contrast, took part in a two-decade MAP program before its 2020 entry.
But the proposal would still require Ukraine to carry out reforms and, contrary to the wishes of NATO members in Eastern Europe, it would not attach any time frame for Ukraine’s accession. U.S. officials said the proposal goes beyond the preferred course of NATO countries that fear that Ukrainian membership could intensify the West’s standoff with Russia. The senior official declined to name those countries, but officials from France, Germany and the United States have urged caution in the past.
