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In response to
"NATO, shocked by Russian atrocities, is becoming the war-fighting alliance it once was."
by
crash davis 😺
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The question of NATO membership for Ukraine looms as the leaders of France, Germany and Poland meet.
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The leaders of France, Germany and Poland met in Paris on Monday and reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine, amid ongoing discussions about what kind of long-term security guarantees can be provided to the embattled country.
Ukraine’s allies “must ensure not only that Russia does not emerge victorious from this venture, but also that it is unable to repeat it,” President Emmanuel Macron of France said during a joint news conference with Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany and President Andrzej Duda of Poland.
Mr. Macron said France will ramp up its deliveries of aid to the Ukrainian military, including weapons, ammunition and armored vehicles, and joined his counterparts in repeatedly and emphatically affirming support for Ukraine.
“Our unity is our strength, a strength that Russia did not expect,” Mr. Scholz said, adding that it was time for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to understand “that his plan has failed.”
Most of Ukraine’s Western allies agree on the need to give Ukraine vigorous security guarantees, but they still differ — sometimes sharply — on the details, including whether those guarantees should come within the structure of NATO or outside of it.
Those debates are expected to culminate at a NATO summit next month in Vilnius, Lithuania, where members will discuss ways of strengthening ties between the alliance and Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine — who has pressed for his country’s NATO membership — said on Sunday that he had a “productive conversation” with Mr. Duda that included Kyiv’s expectations ahead of the summit.
“We understand the importance of strong steps by the Alliance to guarantee security for Ukraine,” Mr. Zelensky wrote on Twitter.
On Monday, Mr. Duda said Ukraine was expecting a “clear prospect” of joining the alliance, and said he had “no doubt” that it would eventually be part of NATO. Even so, he acknowledged the major question is “when that membership will become possible.”
Other countries have been less bullish on swift NATO membership for Ukraine, including France.
Mr. Macron, in a speech this month in Bratislava, said that Ukraine needed “tangible and credible” security guarantees, and he argued that leaving Ukraine out of any sort of security framework made little sense after arming it with a vast array of military equipment.
But he said that consensus on granting Ukraine full NATO membership was still elusive and suggested instead “to build something between the security provided to Israel and the full-fledged membership” — a reference to Washington’s clear commitment to Israel’s ongoing security without a specific mutual-defense treaty.
— Aurelien Breeden
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