- By James Landale in Vilnius and James Gregory in London
- BBC News
Jul 11, 2023 at 5:35pm BST
Updated 1 hour ago
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Mr. Zelenskyi holds a Ukrainian flag from the destroyed city of Bakhmut
NATO states said Ukraine could join the military alliance “if allies agree and conditions are met” after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the “absurd” delay in joining.
In a communiqué, NATO said it recognized the need to move faster but would not commit to a timeframe.
Mr Zelenskyi said earlier that there seemed to be “no willingness” to invite Ukraine into NATO or make it a member.
He is now in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, where the summit will take place.
Kiev accepts that it cannot join NATO while at war with Russia, but would like to join as soon as the fighting ends.
But Mr. Zelenskyy, in a tweet ahead of Mr. Stoltenberg’s comments, said the lack of an agreed timeframe meant his country’s eventual membership could become an issue for negotiation.
“There remains an opportunity to negotiate with Russia on Ukraine’s membership in NATO. Insecurity is weakness,” he said.
NATO may not have said when and how Ukraine might join the alliance. However, diplomats stressed that they had provided a clearer path to membership and the tedious application process had been significantly shortened.
The alliance had recognized that the Ukrainian army was increasingly “interoperable” and “politically integrated” with NATO forces and would continue to support reforms in Ukraine’s democracy and security sectors.
Diplomats also highlighted the creation of a new NATO-Ukraine Council, which will meet for the first time on Wednesday and will give Kiev the right to convene meetings across the alliance.
But the decision not to provide details on the timeline is seen as a setback for Ukraine.
While such details have always been unlikely, Mr. Zelenskyy’s decision to call the lack of a timetable “absurd” only underscores his diplomatic failings.
Some member states fear that near-automatic Ukraine membership could give Russia an incentive to both escalate and prolong the war.
The focus will now shift to what long-term security guarantees NATO members will promise Ukraine as an alternative to early membership.
In the past, Western security promises failed to deter two Russian invasions. NATO allies hope a third round will be robust and clear enough to convince the Kremlin that further aggression would be too costly.
Mr. Zelenskyy later said in an address to crowds in Vilnius: “NATO will give security to Ukraine. Ukraine will strengthen the alliance.”
Mr. Zelenskyi also presented a battle flag from the devastated city of Bakhmut – the scene of the longest and possibly bloodiest battle of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Vilnius summit comes a day after Turkey gave up its opposition to Sweden joining the military alliance.
Turkey had previously blocked Sweden’s application for months, accusing the country of taking in Kurdish militants. The country will now become the 32nd member of the alliance after Finland – which borders Russia – joined in April.
Both countries announced their intention to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine.
A number of military packages for Ukraine were also announced at Tuesday’s summit.
An 11-nation coalition will begin training Ukrainian pilots to fly US-made F-16 fighter jets at a center in Romania in August, officials said.
In May, the US gave its Western allies the green light to ship advanced fighter jets to Ukraine, including the long-sought F-16s – a major upgrade to the Soviet-era planes currently in service.
Ukraine has repeatedly urged its Western allies to provide fighter jets to assist in its recently launched counter-offensive aimed at retaking territory captured by Russia.
However, experts say that training Ukrainian pilots to fly and operate Western jets will take time.
Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted by Russian news outlets as saying Moscow would be forced to use “similar” weapons if the US supplied Ukraine with controversial cluster munitions.
The weapons release bombs over a wide area and are banned in more than 100 countries because of their impact on civilians.
Mr Shoigu said Russia has similar cluster weapons but has so far refrained from using them.
Rights groups say Russia and Ukraine have already used cluster munitions in the 17 months of war since Russia’s invasion last February.