Zelenskyy's frustrations boil over as NATO temporizes -
NATO leaders gathered in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius announced that Ukraine will eventually be invited into the alliance, but only after Kyiv has met certain conditions and existing members unanimously agree on the matter. President Biden has been one of the leading skeptics on Kyiv’s appeal for accelerated membership in the alliance, in part for fear it would draw the U.S. and its European allies into a direct shooting war with Russia.
The U.S. and European officials have framed the summit as a chance to showcase deepening NATO unity in the face of Russia‘s Ukrainian invasion. But internal debates remain unresolved on the issue of how the alliance can bring Ukraine closer into the fold without actually making it a member — a move Russian President Vladimir Putin has said would cross a red line.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov separately homed in NATO’s announcement from Monday that the path is now open, likely over the coming months, for Sweden to become NATO‘s 32nd member nation, following Finland, which officially joined in April. In response, Sweden changed its anti-terror laws and lifted an arms embargo that it had on Turkey. But Mr. Erdogan continued to hold out, with analysts saying the Turkish leader sought to use the Sweden issue to gain leverage over other powerful NATO members — most notably the U.S. — who’ve eagerly backed Swedish ascension.
However, the Turkish president appeared eager to develop his relationship with Mr. Biden, saying before an audience of reporters that previous meetings the two had were “mere warm-ups, but now we are initiating a new process.” However, Mr. Blinken also stressed that the Biden administration views Mr. Erdogan’s pursuit of the jets and his stance on Sweden as “separate issues.” Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat who has led the oppostion of the F-16 deal with Turkey in the past, said this week he was in discussions with white House officials on the way forward given Mr. Erdogan’s shift.
Some argue that admitting Ukraine would fulfill a promise made years ago by the George W. Bush administration and is a necessary step to guarantee Kyiv’s protection against future Russian attacks. Others fear it would be seen as a provocation at a time when Russian forces occupy a fifth of Ukraine‘s territory and Kyiv has yet to carry out a number of internal reforms.
With Russia eager to exploit divisions within NATO, some analysts say the issue of how to respond to Ukraine’s interest in joining the alliance is the weightiest matter hanging over the summit in Vilnius.
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