NATO showed no signs yesterday that it will soon invited Ukraine to join as allies sought more information from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about his "victory plan" to end the war with Russia, reported the Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
The plan is focused on asking NATO to move forward the "accelerated" membership application Zelensky submitted two years ago to seek protection under the military alliance's security umbrella after Russia launched a full-scale invasion.
Confidence in NATO is based on the guarantee of collective security - Article 5 of the founding treaty of the organization. It is a commitment by all 32 member states to come to the aid of any member whose sovereignty or territory may be attacked.
However, this does not apply to a partner country like Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte refused to welcome the "victory plan", saying only that he and allies were "taking note". He did not discuss when Ukraine might join the world's largest military alliance, except to insist that it would become a member.
"The plan has many aspects and many political and military issues that we really need to clarify with the Ukrainians to understand what is behind it, to see what we can do and what we cannot do,” Rutte said at headquarters of NATO in Brussels.
"We are in close contact with the allies, with Ukraine, to see how we can take the next steps,”, he added. He declined to elaborate on what else NATO wanted to know, telling reporters only: "I can't give you all the details on that.
For now, Rutte said, the focus should be on helping Ukraine regain more territory and strengthen its position for possible future peace talks.
Zelensky is due to explain elements of his plan today to European Union leaders, most of whom are also in NATO's ranks.
All this is happening at a dark time for Ukraine. Its troops are struggling to contain the better-manned and equipped Russian forces, especially in the eastern part of Donetsk region, where they are gradually being pushed back. Kiev is surviving with help from the West, but according to Ukraine, it is coming too slowly.
While outlining his plan on Wednesday, Zelensky told Ukrainian lawmakers that extending a NATO invitation to the country would be a "testimony to (the allies') resolve" to support her efforts.
Ukraine's future in NATO is something the alliance has been considering for 16 years, AP recalls.
At their summit in Washington in July, the 32 member states announced that Ukraine was on "irreversible” path to membership. To the uninitiated, however, little progress appears to have been made since NATO leaders promised Ukraine and Georgia in 2008 that "these countries will one day become members of NATO.".
For now, NATO is on standby, AP notes.