NATO agrees, Ukraine will join the without Membership Action Plan – Kuleba
NATO allies have reached a decision to cancel the Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Ukraine’s accession to the North Atlantic Alliance, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, wrote on Twitter on July 10.
“Following
intensive talks, NATO allies have reached a consensus on removing MAP from
Ukraine’s path to membership. I welcome this long-awaited decision that
shortens our path to NATO,” said Kuleba.
He further emphasized
that now is the opportune moment to clarify the current status of Ukraine’s
invitation to become a member of the military-political union.
MAP is a program
outlining the steps for candidate countries to join the organization. At the
NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008, it was declared that Ukraine would become a
member of the Alliance without specifying specific terms.
Nevertheless, Kyiv never received the MAP.
NATO Summit in Vilnius: What Ukraine is still waiting for
Ukraine hopes to receive a definitive signal of readiness to join the Alliance at the summit in the Lithuanian capital on July 11-12.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has confirmed that there will be such a signal, but without extending a formal invitation for Kyiv to join the Alliance. The White House also announced that Ukraine will not join NATO immediately after the summit.
Ukraine has
previously stated that it does not anticipate immediate accession but seeks a
clear invitation and a political decision. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also expressed expectations, including:
- Defense packages for Ukraine, “not merely promises, but with specific implementation timelines”;
- Discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine, which are crucial before the country can become a full-fledged member of the Alliance.
The U.S. news website Politico has reported that Western allies have yet to reach a consensus on the security guarantees requested by Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Financial Times has indicated that countries are preparing a joint declaration outlining their commitments.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Western nations will propose a security model for Ukraine similar to that of Israel as part of its NATO membership process. This model would facilitate the transfer of weapons and advanced technologies to Kyiv and serve as a step toward membership in the Alliance.
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