In a joint statement released on Sunday, the leaders of nine NATO countries in Europe urged all 30 NATO members to increase military assistance to Kiev in support of Ukraine’s bid for membership in the US-led security alliance.
In response to Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian areas, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made the unexpected decision to submit an immediate application for NATO membership on Friday.
Ukraine is unlikely to join NATO anytime soon since it needs the consent of all 30 members. Its status as a nation at war already makes the request challenging.
She asked the nine NATO nations in Central and Eastern Europe to react to Russia’s acquisition of Ukraine’s land out of fear that Russia would subsequently target them if they did not.
In a statement published on their websites on Sunday, the presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia said: “We support Ukraine in its defence against the Russian invasion, we demand (Russia) the immediate withdrawal from all occupied territories, and we encourage all allies to increase their military assistance to Ukraine significantly.
The top brass made it clear that they “stand fully behind the decision of the NATO Summit in Bucharest in 2008 on Ukraine’s eventual membership.”
At the 2008 summit, NATO members welcomed Ukraine and Georgia’s aspirations to join, but they declined to offer a specific timeline for the two nations’ potential admission. A schedule was not included in Sunday’s message either.
Jake Sullivan, the White House’s national security adviser, responded that the application process in Brussels “should be taken up at a later time” when questioned on Friday about Zelensky’s proposal for an expedited NATO membership.
When questioned about inviting Zelensky to join, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg remained silent.
Zelensky’s proposal was criticised by Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy director of Putin’s Russian Security Council, who claimed that it amounted to “a begging NATO to speed up the start of World War III.”
“Finland and Sweden formally applied to join NATO in May through an expedited procedure, spurred driven by security worries over the Russian attack.
The majority of member states have already given their applications the go light, and the Scandinavian nations are expected to join in a flash.
In the wake of the Russian strike, nine NATO members call for solidarity for Ukraine.
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