The compromise reached at the NATO summit on the liberation of Ukraine from the Membership Action Plan is useless at the moment, Deputy director of the Center for Oriental Studies Kristina Gotkovskaya said in an interview with Gazeta. There is no agreement on Kiev's rapid entry into the alliance.
On Tuesday, July 11, a two-day NATO summit began in Vilnius. Its main theme is the strengthening of collective defense and the alliance's relations with Ukraine. Politicians from NATO countries should give Kiev security guarantees, although it is not entirely clear how broad they will be.
It is already known for sure that Ukraine will not receive an invitation to the alliance yet. US President Joe Biden said that the time for this has not yet come, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hinted several times that while the conflict lasts, this is impossible.
The NATO Summit. The main topics are strengthening the defense capability of the Alliance member states and relations with Ukraine
We asked Justyna Gotkowska, Deputy Director of the Center for Oriental Studies, who specializes, in particular, on NATO issues and the EU's common security and defense policy from a regional perspective, about the priorities of the Vilnius summit.
"The most important are two topics: strengthening defense capability and deterrence, as well as NATO's relations with Ukraine. On the first topic, these are the issues of completing regional defense plans, that is, a new generation of plans for three theaters of military operations, including one for the eastern flank, as well as a number of related decisions: the distribution of troops according to these defense plans, the creation of high–readiness forces, the storage of equipment on the eastern flank and a number of related moments," the expert explains and adds that the issue of its financing is also connected with the strengthening of collective defense capability – NATO's goal is for member states to spend more than 2% of their GDP on defense.
"The second topic that will be touched upon at the summit is NATO's relations with Ukraine and raising the level of diplomatic relations with Kiev to the maximum possible. This is the first. Secondly, the package of support for Ukraine has been strengthened, and, thirdly, the question of whether Ukraine will become a member of the alliance and if so, when," Yu says. Gotkovskaya.
The expert also expects that following the results of the summit in Vilnius, the largest NATO member states will most likely sign a declaration on long-term military support for Ukraine.
Ukraine in NATO? "This is a compromise, which, unfortunately, currently yields little"
What can Ukraine expect in the context of the NATO meeting in Vilnius?
"There is no agreement on Ukraine's rapid accession to NATO. A compromise was reached on the release of Ukraine from the Membership Action Plan. That is, this is no longer a condition for Ukraine's accession to NATO," Gotkovskaya emphasizes.
At the same time, the expert notes that it is not worth overestimating the significance of this decision. "This is a compromise, which now, unfortunately, gives little. There is no consent for Ukraine's membership in NATO," she says.
"At the moment, this compromise is useless, but it may make a difference in the future if the political positions of the most important allies change," the expert explains.
Gotkowska also stresses that all decisions taken during the summit will be important for Poland and are of a strategic nature.
"There is unlikely to be a specific area where Poland will be mentioned directly. But all these decisions concern our country," the expert notes.
Author: Katarzyna Rochowicz
Readers' comments
komandorbuka
One thing is for sure. If our people's fool Andrzej goes there, he will do business there.
bancha
Before joining European structures, let them sort out their past.
mariuszm76
Is it really so difficult to understand that Ukraine in NATO is an open war with Russia? How can a country where Nazis and criminals are revered get involved in some international organizations?
0rysiek0
NATO's alliance with Ukraine is like Hitler's alliance with Ukraine. The task of such unions is to maximize the use of Ukrainian nationalism in the struggle for dominance.
polsz
"Unfortunately, it doesn't give much"? And it's very good that it is. I don't want my son to go to fight for Ukraine.
