The United States and Germany have derailed a European plan to grant Ukraine an “irreversible” path to NATO membership.
Washington and Berlin have instead thrown their weight behind offering Volodymyr Zelensky a lighter commitment to membership of the military alliance.
A group of European countries, including the UK, had hoped to describe Kyiv’s path to join the alliance as “irreversible” in a communique to be signed off at a summit next month.But the US is pushing for watered-down language, describing the process as a “well-lit bridge” to membership with no concrete timeline.The original language was devised as a compromise solution, with the US and Germany reluctant to set out a concrete timeline amid fears the move would trigger an escalation from Russia.A number of Ukraine’s most ardent supporters had hoped to agree on “very forward-leaning language” that could be interpreted as an “invitation for membership” in talks over the joint statement, Nato sources said.Referring to US and German opposition to the enhanced offer, a source close to discussions said: “Those two countries will be mighty relieved if we stay away from an invitation.“And anything short of that irreversibility, I think that’s digestible for them.”At last year’s Nato summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, members agreed that Ukraine’s “future is in Nato”, but declined to offer a deadline for it to join the alliance.There is an expectation that the language in this year’s statement should serve as “Vilnius plus”, building on the original pledge to Ukraine and giving greater assurances that Nato’s collective defence clause will eventually protect it.The Telegraph understands this year’s meeting, to be held from July 9 in Washington DC, will not see any further offerings on the timeline but will involve new security guarantees for Ukraine from members.US officials are reportedly concerned that describing the path to joining the alliance as “irreversible” would be unacceptable to some members, including Hungary.However, some other members say that Ukraine has yet to meet the criteria for entry by reforming its government.Joe Biden, the US president, said earlier this month that he opposed the “Nato-isation” of Ukraine as part of a peace deal with Russia, pointing to “corruption” in Kyiv.Antony Blinken, his secretary of state, said that Nato would provide “concrete steps to bring Ukraine closer” this year, and create a “bridge to membership…that is strong and well-lit”.Escalation with Russia
Some believe that setting a deadline for Ukraine to join the alliance risks dragging the whole bloc into a war with Russia if peace is not achieved by that date.Under the terms of the North Atlantic Treaty, an attack on one member state is considered an attack on them all.If Ukraine joined the alliance while at war with Russia, all other signatories to the treaty would be obliged to come to its aid.Mr Zelensky has repeatedly requested a firm timeline for Ukraine to join the bloc, arguing that its membership would deter Russia on the country’s Eastern flank, where the war continues.At last year’s summit, he described the vague membership offer when “conditions are met” as “unprecedented and absurd”.The Ukrainian president’s outburst was described as a “disaster” by a senior Nato official, who warned that the alliance had to avoid a repeat scenario in Washington.“We need to have a consensus before the Washington summit,” they added.
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