New Delhi, 12th July 2023: At a summit in Vilnius, NATO leaders agreed that Ukraine’s future rests within the alliance, but they stopped short of offering Kyiv the invitation or timeframe for admission that the nation has been seeking.
At the same time, NATO withdrew the requirement for Ukraine to complete a so-called Membership Action Plan (MAP), essentially removing a roadblock in Kyiv’s path to membership in the alliance.
“Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” the leaders said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that Kyiv’s Euro-Atlantic integration has progressed beyond the necessity for a Membership Action Plan.
The declaration said, “We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met.”
While leaders did not identify the standards Ukraine must satisfy, they did state that the alliance would assist Kiev in making progress on military interoperability as well as more democratic and security sector reforms.
