The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, has said that Ukraine is closer to joining NATO but that it will join only when certain conditions are met.
Stoltenberg made the disclosure on Tuesday at the NATO summit going on in Vilnius, Lithuania.
He said that NATO will extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the military alliance when “members agree and conditions are met”.
Ukraine topped the agenda at the Nato summit in Vilnius, with Stoltenberg saying that “Ukraine’s future is in NATO.”
He, however, added leaders have not set a timetable for Ukraine to join, as indicated by reports from the meeting.
“We reaffirmed Ukraine will become a member of NATO and agreed to remove the requirement for a membership action plan,” Stoltenberg told reporters, referring to a key step in joining NATO.
By dropping the requirement for Ukraine to fulfill the so-called Membership Action Plan (MAP), NATO leaders effectively removed a hurdle on Kyiv’s way into the alliance.
While NATO agreed to remove one requirement for Ukrainian entrance to the bloc it did not provide a firm timeline for when the Ukraine would become a full member.
That has frustrated the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who arrived at the summit Tuesday calling it “unprecedented and absurd” no time frame had been set.
Meanwhile, according to a report by CNN, Ukraine is hoping to deploy F-16 fighter jets by March 2024, according to the country’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba.
Kuleba said during an interview published on Wednesday that so far, no government has committed to providing Ukraine with the US-made aircraft.
The interview with Radio Svoboda (Radio Liberty), recorded on Tuesday, comes as Zelensky held a meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, in which the two nations “agreed to start training pilots in August.”
“We are getting closer to a decision on modern aviation for Ukraine,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
When asked Tuesday if he could publicly announce when training will start and when Ukraine may expect to receive F-16s, Kuleba told Radio Svoboda:
“I think it’s just a very complicated technical issue. The training should start sometime in August, maybe in early September.”
He added: “In parallel, there will be preparation of judicial decisions necessary for the transfer of the aircrafts and the aircrafts themselves.
“I think if by the end of the first quarter of next year the first F-16s are flying in Ukrainian air, flown by Ukrainian pilots, it will be on schedule,” he continued.
But he noted that there needs to be trainings for engineers and technicians, plus the preparation of infrastructure.
A handful of European countries have a supply of the US-made F-16s, including the Netherlands, which has signalled a willingness to export some of them to Ukraine. But the US would have to approve that third party transfer because of the jets’ sensitive US technology.
Ukraine has argued F-16s are essential to fight off Russian air attacks.
Meanwhile, Germany has pledged its Patriot missile defense systems to Ukraine.
Zelensky said Wednesday that Germany will send Ukraine additional launchers and missiles for Patriot missile defense systems.
“We continued the conversation on security guarantees for Ukraine on its way to NATO with Chancellor Scholz. Thank you for your support,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
“There is an agreement on additional Patriot launchers and missiles for them from Germany. This is very important to protect life in Ukraine from Russian terror.
“I am grateful for Germany’s readiness for long-term, multi-year support of Ukraine and our defense of freedom. Long-term support programs are the best signal to everyone in the world that our Europe will remain a space of security and peace.”
On Tuesday, Germany announced weapons and military aid worth €700 million ($769.9 million), the country’s defense ministry said in a statement.
The Patriot has a powerful radar to detect incoming targets at long range, making it capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and more.
The war in Ukraine shifted Europe’s security landscape, prompting NATO member countries including Germany to rethink its approach to national security strategy and modernize its military capacity.
In another development, Zelensky said he expects “good news” from his meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the NATO summit in Vilnius Wednesday.
In a tweet, Zelensky said the meeting between the pair had started.
“Dialogue with Olaf Scholz… will be meaningful as always. We expect good news regarding the protection of the lives of Ukrainians and our defense,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky also met with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 12.
He said he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s about NATO accession for Ukraine, on day two of the key summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
He also disclosed that he had received “Canada’s understanding” regarding security guarantees for Ukraine’s membership bid.
“We are discussing security guarantees for Ukraine on its way to NATO — we have Canada’s understanding, the world’s understanding will follow, and we are preparing an important security victory for Ukraine,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
“I am grateful to Justin and Canada for reinforcing our soldiers with armored vehicles. There are powerful agreements.” Read more.
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