Ukrainian defense minister expects NATO to soon present roadmap for accession
Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov expects clear terms and conditions for Ukraine's accession to the Alliance from the July NATO summit in Vilnius, he said in a comment at the Military Media Center of the Ministry of Defense.
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He hopes that at the summit, the terms of accession will be outlined or a "certain event" will be determined, after which Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance, and "it will no longer be an unclear vague form regarding open doors."
The Minister also believes that the appearance of the Ukraine-NATO Council will increase the efficiency of interaction with the Alliance.
This format should replace the meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission at the level of defense ministers, the last of which took place last week in Brussels.
"I believe that this will happen, and I think it will be announced at the summit in Vilnius. Then Ukraine will sit down at the table with the members of the Alliance on equal terms. Ukraine will have the right to raise issues, include them in the agenda, discuss, participate in the work of subcommittees," Reznikov noted.
Also, according to him, Ukraine will have the right to participate in at least two annual meetings at the level of defense ministers of NATO member states, which will add "much more subjectivity" and give the opportunity "to be more effective in cooperation with NATO."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba preiviously expressed skepticism about creating a Ukraine-NATO Council without also taking decisive steps toward Ukraine's accession to the Alliance. He said:"For Ukraine, establishing a Ukraine-NATO Council without taking a decisive step toward membership is like providing a tank without a gun."
On May 9, 2023, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg announced that all NATO countries had reached an agreement on three points regarding Ukraine's accession to the Alliance.
On June 7, Stoltenberg said that NATO should develop security guarantees for Ukraine before its accession.
On June 16, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that NATO can allow Ukraine to join under a simplified procedure.
CNN wrote that Biden allegedly does not object to the exclusion of the MAP stage in the event of Ukraine's accession to NATO. The next day, Biden announced that he would not simplify the conditions for Ukraine to join NATO.