NYT: NATO allies in bitter fight over how to describe Ukraine’s path toward NATO membership |
|
Writer, Briefing |
|
Good morning. We’re covering the outcomes of a NATO summit in Lithuania and trouble in the ranks of the Russian military. |
|
|
Divisions remain in NATO |
|
At its annual summit, NATO had some significant successes: Turkey lifted its objections to Sweden’s membership; the alliance approved new spending goals and military plans; and all 31 member states agreed that Ukraine belongs in NATO, a significant shift in position stemming from Ukraine’s brave, resilient defense of its country and of Western values. |
|
Even so, the summit’s final communiqué does not disguise some serious strains among alliance members in the bitter fight over how to describe Ukraine’s path toward NATO membership. Ukraine was promised an invitation “when allies agree and conditions are met,” leaving both the timing and the conditions unsaid, to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s consternation. |
|
When Ukraine was initially promised membership in 2008, at a summit in Bucharest, the statement was a way to cover over deeper and more lasting divisions, with Germany and France absolutely opposed to Ukrainian membership, while Washington wanted to give Kyiv a clear path to join. That balance has now shifted. |
Biden speaks: The U.S. president compared the battle to expel Russia from Ukraine with the Cold War struggle for freedom in Europe, promising that “we will not waver” no matter how long the war continues. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, “still wrongly believes that he can outlast Ukraine,” he said. He added: “He is making a bad bet.”