Zelensky Hits Out at 'Absurd' NATO

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has bemoaned the lack of a timetable for future accession to NATO on Tuesday, as he confirmed he would attend the alliance's landmark summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, to ensure his country was treated with "respect."

The prospect of future Ukrainian NATO membership is looming over the meeting in Vilnius, with Ukraine and its stronger supporters urging allies to set out a concrete path to accession, most likely when the hot phase of the ongoing war with Russia ends.

NATO nations are seeking a fine balance in going beyond the vague commitment to future Ukrainian membership made at the 2008 Bucharest summit while avoiding the direct NATO-Russia confrontation that could arise from Kyiv's accession in the midst of an active conflict with Moscow.

Zelensky, though, tweeted on Tuesday that it was "absurd" not to give Ukraine a time frame for prospective accession, even amid fighting with Russian troops and with no sign of any peace talks with President Vladimir Putin.

"We value our allies," Zelensky wrote. "We value our shared security. And we always appreciate an open conversation. Ukraine will be represented at the NATO summit in Vilnius. Because it is about respect."

"But Ukraine also deserves respect. Now, on the way to Vilnius, we received signals that certain wording is being discussed without Ukraine. And I would like to emphasize that this wording is about the invitation to become [a] NATO member, not about Ukraine's membership."

"It's unprecedented and absurd when time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine's membership. While at the same time vague wording about 'conditions' is added even for inviting Ukraine."

"It seems there is no readiness neither to invite Ukraine to NATO nor to make it a member of the Alliance. This means that a window of opportunity is being left to bargain Ukraine's membership in NATO in negotiations with Russia. And for Russia, this means motivation to continue its terror."

"Uncertainty is weakness. And I will openly discuss this at the summit."

NATO leaders have appeared hesitant to set a date for Ukrainian membership of NATO. President Joe Biden, for example, told CNN in a weekend interview: "I don't think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war...If the war is going on, then we're all in war."

Even among more hawkish Ukrainian backers, there appears to be a consensus that the country cannot accede while in a hot conflict with Moscow.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, for example, told Newsweek on Monday that he believed Kyiv's membership was "inevitable," though added: "There is a common understanding between the allies and also the Ukrainian government that membership cannot come right now in the middle of the hot military crisis."

Kyiv has already scored a significant win this week, with alliance leaders agreeing to waive the Membership Action Plan (MAP) generally required for aspirant nations to prove their suitability.

But Kyiv wants more. "We are continuing to fight to persuade the U.S. and other NATO member states to be more decisive and to include in the final statement of the Vilnius summit the formulation we need," Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and the chair of the body's foreign affairs committee told Newsweek.

"We need clear a algorithm and timetable," the lawmaker added. "The idea that the accession to NATO should be postponed until 'the end of war' is wrong because it encourages Putin to inflict maximum damage on Ukraine and prevent it from joining NATO...In my opinion, if NATO admits Ukraine right now, it will stop Putin."

Update 07/11/23, 8:00 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include additional information.