Ukraine promised approval for NATO membership
Sopuruchi Onwuka, withy agency reports
The diplomatic romance and military cooperation between Ukraine and the Western military alliance has earned the Eastern European country a solid promise of the membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the world’s most powerful defence coalition.
NATO allies reached a decision to cancel the Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Ukraine’s accession to the North Atlantic Alliance, the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, wrote on Twitter on July 10.
“Following intensive talks, NATO allies have reached a consensus on removing MAP from Ukraine’s path to membership. I welcome this long-awaited decision that shortens our path to NATO,” said Kuleba.
MAP is a program outlining the steps for candidate countries to join the organization.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also expressed expectations from the meeting, including defence packages for Ukraine, “not merely promises, but with specific implementation timelines”; discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine, which are crucial before the country can become a full-fledged member of the Alliance.
The U.S. news website Politico has reported that Western allies have yet to reach a consensus on the security guarantees requested by Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Financial Times has indicated that countries are preparing a joint declaration outlining their commitments.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Western nations will propose a security model for Ukraine similar to that of Israel as part of its NATO membership process. This model would facilitate the transfer of weapons and advanced technologies to Kyiv and serve as a step toward membership in the Alliance.
The Oracle Today reports that the quest for NATO membership forms the major reason for which Russia has been alarmed and actually invaded Ukraine before it could formally join the group.
In invading Ukraine to the consternation of the world, Russia had demanded its smaller weaker neighbour to remain militarily neutral to maintain a buffer zone between the leader of the defunct Warsaw Pact and its western rival.
Invasion of Ukraine incidentally earned Ukraine NATO’s sympathy and billions of dollars of military equipment and sundry logistics and training support to contend with Russian surprise onslaught.
