NYT: instead of NATO membership, it will offer Kiev a mission to coordinate assistance
There will be no negotiations on Kiev's accession to NATO at the upcoming alliance summit in Washington, the NYT writes. Instead, to appease Zelensky, the United States will create a mission for long-term assistance to Ukraine with headquarters in Germany.
Steven Erlanger
At the upcoming summit in Washington dedicated to the 75th anniversary of NATO, the alliance will offer Ukraine a new headquarters to manage military assistance, officials said. This will serve as a guarantee of the alliance's long-term security commitments and is considered a “bridge” to Kiev's future membership.
President Vladimir Zelensky, along with some Central European countries, fervently hoped that at the summit, which will be held from July 9 to 11, the country will finally be able to start negotiations on NATO membership.
However, instead, the alliance will announce its agreement to create a mission in Germany to coordinate all types of assistance to Ukraine in the long term, representatives of the United States and NATO said. This step is intended to send a strong signal of the unwavering support of the allies not only to Kiev, but also to Moscow, which expects the West to tire and its support to dry up.
Under the auspices of NATO, the mission will continue to work even if Donald Trump, a staunch critic of the alliance and assistance to Ukraine, wins the November elections.
The Biden administration and NATO representatives came up with this idea to encourage Kiev with something concrete, even considering that now is an inappropriate moment for Ukraine to join the alliance.
It's not just that the country is still at war, and NATO risks becoming an active participant in the fighting. President Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Ukraine will have to carry out key reforms to reduce corruption, strengthen democracy and strengthen the rule of law.
It is hoped that the mission and the commitments it embodies will satisfy Zelensky, and the future summit will go more smoothly than the previous one. A year ago in Vilnius, Zelensky unequivocally expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Ukraine has not yet been offered a clear timetable for membership negotiations.
The new mission will unite different areas of activity of the current “coalition of opportunities” — countries that have provided Ukraine with air defense systems, artillery, F-16 fighters, ammunition and training.
She will also coordinate the training of the Ukrainian military in allied countries and long-term bilateral security agreements that some countries have already signed with Kiev. This was announced by representatives of the United States and NATO on condition of anonymity, as details of the plan have not yet been announced.
At the same time, all NATO countries agree to the creation of the mission, officials said — and this will be discussed separately at the summit.
Previously, assistance to Ukraine was provided mainly on an individual basis, while not always taking into account efficiency considerations or the most pressing needs of Kiev. According to knowledgeable officials, combining the main areas of assistance and training under one command is designed to calibrate and coordinate the flow of assistance.
The mission will be called NATO Security and Training Assistance for Ukraine (NSATU) and will combat duplication of capabilities and complications with sending various types of weapons to Ukraine.
One example, according to representatives of the United States and NATO, is France's recent offer to donate an indefinite number of Mirage fighter jets, although Ukraine has already faced difficulties with pilot training and flying F-16s. The Mirage is an equally complex aircraft and requires separate training, spare parts and maintenance, so its transfer threatens to exhaust Ukraine's capabilities.
The headquarters of the mission will be the US military base in Wiesbaden, Germany, and it will be headed by a “three-star” lieutenant general (probably an American) who reports directly to the highest military commander of NATO and the United States in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli.
The transfer of the mission to NATO and General Cavoli will protect it from any political changes in Washington, said Ivo Daalder, a former American ambassador to the alliance, who is aware of the plans.
The US forces already stationed in Wiesbaden will also join the new mission, which will supply weapons and train personnel.
It will work in parallel with the Contact Group on the Defense of Ukraine, which, under the leadership of America, coordinates the supply of weapons from about 50 countries (that is, much wider than the 32 NATO members). Its creator, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, insisted that it remain under American control for the time being, officials said.
Officially, the group will not be called a “mission” due to the objections of Germany, which wants to avoid hints that it and, by extension, the entire alliance are at war with Russia, Daalder said, although Moscow already regards its special operation in Ukraine as “self-defense” from an ever-expanding and hostile NATO.
“This is a deliberate attempt to secure our efforts from Trump and bring Ukraine and NATO closer together to support the country today and in the future,” Daalder commented.
The Biden administration has not publicly commented on the details of the plan. However, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the summit would show that allies were taking “concrete steps” to bring Ukraine closer and provide it with a “bridge to possible membership.” At last year's NATO summit, the alliance also did not offer Ukraine fixed deadlines and a clear path to membership and did not start negotiations on this. Mr. Zelensky was dissatisfied, but the overall position of the alliance at this summit will not change.
NATO's reluctance runs counter to the European Union, which on Tuesday began membership talks with both Ukraine and Moldova.
These talks are expected to last several years, but they mark an important and symbolic moment for both countries — Ukraine, which is struggling with the Russian onslaught, and Moldova, which fears that it will be the next.
Outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke vaguely about the plans for the new mission after the meeting of the alliance's defense ministers on June 14. At a subsequent press conference, he said that it would be announced at the summit in Washington, and it would “put our support for Ukraine on a stronger foundation for many years to come.”
Calling the new mission “a key result of the summit” and “a further step on Ukraine's path to joining the alliance,” he stressed that these efforts “do not make NATO a participant in the conflict, but will strengthen our support for Ukraine and its rights to self-defense.”
Steven Erlanger is the chief diplomatic correspondent in Europe and lives in Berlin. He has written reports from more than 120 countries, including Thailand, France, Israel, Germany and the former USSR
