NATO welcomes Ukraine’s membership but Zenenskiy has described failure to hand timetable for its admission as “absurd’’.  

Leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Tuesday agreed to Ukraine’s membership with the body admitting that the future of the country lies within the alliance.

NATO leaders however failed to hand Kyiv the invitation or timetable for accession, a development Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has kicked against and described as “absurd”.

In a declaration statement, leadership dropped the Membership Action Plan (MAP) requirement for Ukraine to fulfil, paving a way on Kyiv’s bid into the alliance.

The declaration however indicated that NATO will be in the position to extend invitation to Ukraine to become a member only when the country has met certain conditions and all allies gave their consent.

The statement highlighted the disagreements among NATO’s 31 members over a date or outright invitation for Ukraine to join the organization.

Ukraine has hard-pressed for a swift entry with security assurances before Russia invaded the country in February last year.

The declaration reaffirmed NATO’s unwavering solidarity with the government and people of Ukraine in the heroic defence of Ukrainian sovereignty and shared values of organisation and its allies.

“Ukraine’s future is in NATO. We will be in a position to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and conditions are met,” the declaration said.

Leaders of the alliance however did not specify the exact conditions that Ukraine needs to qualify for invitation and admission but said it would help Kyiv to make progress on security and military prospects as well as democratic reforms.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the bloc would send Kyiv a “positive message” on path to membership at meeting with alliance leaders at a summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius as a Ukrainian counteroffensive against the Russian forces had slowed more than Kyiv had expected.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has criticised the development describing the move as “absurd” and chastising NATO leaders for not offering a specific timeframe for membership.

“It’s absurd when a timeframe is not set, neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine’s membership, Zelenskiy said a special guest at the summit.

Responding to Zelenskiy’s condemnation, Stoltenberg at a press conference said there has never been a strong message from NATO with regards to political path for NATO membership and support from NATO allies. According to the NATO chief, previous accessions to NATO had not been accompanied by any timeline but has always been conditions-based.

“There has never been a stronger message from NATO at any time, both when it comes to the political message of the path forward for membership and the concrete support from NATO allies,” Jens Stoltenberg said.

By

Eric Gyimah