Blow for Zelensky as Nato leaders offer Ukraine support but not membership for now
- At a summit starting on Tuesday, President Biden and allies will agree to boost defence spending and pour weapons, ammunition and other equipment into Ukraine
- It also looks unlikely Sweden will be the next member of the world’s biggest security organisation after Turkey’s President Erdogan raised strong objections
Nato leaders will agree next week to help modernise Ukraine’s armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day, the organisation’s top civilian official said on Friday. But the war-torn country will not start membership talks soon.
At a two-day summit starting on Tuesday in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, US President Joe Biden and his counterparts will also agree to boost defence spending as allies pour weapons, ammunition and other support like uniforms and medical equipment into Ukraine, 17 months into the war.
They also had hoped to welcome Sweden as the next member of the world’s biggest security organisation, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has raised strong objections and it’s unclear if they can be overcome in time. Even if so, Sweden’s accession would become official only in coming months.
“For 500 days, Moscow has brought death and destruction to the heart of Europe, seeking to destroy Ukraine and divide Nato”, Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Friday. “At the summit, we will make Ukraine even stronger, and set out a vision for its future”.
Stoltenberg said the leaders “will agree a multi-year programme of help to ensure full interoperability between the Ukrainian armed forces and Nato.”
A Nato-Ukraine Council – where crisis talks can be held – will be established. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will attend the council’s first meeting in Vilnius on Wednesday