VILNIUS, July 11 (Portal) – NATO leaders agreed at a summit in Vilnius that Ukraine’s future lies within the alliance, but have failed to present Kyiv with the invitation or timeline for joining, that the country aspired to.
At the same time, NATO waived Ukraine’s obligation to fulfill a so-called Membership Action Plan (MAP), effectively removing a hurdle on Kiev’s path to becoming an alliance.
“Ukraine’s future lies in NATO,” said a statement agreed by leaders on Tuesday, adding that Kiev’s Euro-Atlantic integration has gone beyond the need for a membership action plan.
NATO summit participants take their positions to pose for an official family photo July 11, 2023 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Pool via Portal/File Photo
“We will be able to invite Ukraine to join the alliance if allies agree and conditions are met,” the statement said.
While leaders did not specify the conditions Ukraine must meet, they said the alliance will help Kiev make progress on military interoperability, as well as additional democratic and security sector reforms.
(This story has been rearchived to remove a superfluous word from the headline)
Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Andrew Gray and John Irish, editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout
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