Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lashed out at NATO on Tuesday for its “unprecedented and absurd” lack of a timetable for when his country will be formally invited to become a member of the military alliance.
The question of when—if at all—Ukraine will be allowed to join hangs over this week’s NATO summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. With Russia still bringing death and devastation to Zelensky’s homeland, he believes there is no time to lose.
In an excoriating statement on Twitter on Tuesday, Zelensky said Ukraine values its international allies but said his country “also deserves respect.” “Now, on the way to Vilnius, we received signals that certain wording is being discussed without Ukraine,” he wrote. “And I would like to emphasize that this wording is about the invitation to become a NATO member, not about Ukraine’s membership.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s unprecedented and absurd when a timeframe is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine’s membership,” he continued. “While at the same time vague wording about ‘conditions’ is added even for inviting Ukraine.”
In 2008, NATO agreed that Ukraine would become a member of the alliance. Ever since, no clear timetable has emerged as to when that would happen, or under what conditions.
“It seems there is no readiness neither to invite Ukraine to NATO nor to make it a member of the Alliance,” Zelensky added. “This means that a window of opportunity is being left to bargain Ukraine’s membership in NATO in negotiations with Russia. And for Russia, this means motivation to continue its terror.”
He ended his message by saying that: “Uncertainty is weakness” and that he will “openly discuss this at the summit.”
Zelensky’s muscular statement came even as NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg assured that Ukraine would be given a “clear, united, and positive message” about its path toward membership.
The 31 existing members of the alliance have differing views about the prospect of Ukraine joining, however, after Russia said such a move would threaten its national security and potentially start World War III. Over the weekend, President Joe Biden said in a CNN interview that he did not “think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war.”
Reports suggest that Biden will meet with Zelensky at the summit. On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia is “carefully monitoring” the events in Lithuania. “It is without doubt an alliance summit with a strong anti-Russian character,” Peskov told reporters. “Russia is seen as an enemy, an adversary, and it is in this context that discussions will take place.”
On Monday, NATO member Turkey agreed to end its long-standing opposition to Sweden joining the alliance. In a White House statement, Biden said he looked forward to welcoming the Nordic country “as our 32nd NATO Ally.”
