An agreement reached Tuesday between NATO leaders does not include a timeline on expanding membership to include Ukraine, sparking criticism from Kyiv.<\/p>\n
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg defended the decision to take a more cautious and slower approach to Ukraine\u2019s accession.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat allies have agreed today is a strong, united and positive message to Ukraine about enduring support but also a positive message on the path forward for membership,\u201d he said at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.<\/p>\n
Ukraine sees the decision to not fast-track Ukraine into the alliance or provide a clear timetable as a rejection that emboldens Russia.<\/p>\n
Even before the details were made clear, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country \u201cdeserves respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s unprecedented and absurd when [a] time frame is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine\u2019s membership,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n
The agreement reached Tuesday, enshrined in a communiqu\u00e9, includes multiyear assistance to Ukraine to increase interoperability with NATO, a new council to advance political ties and the removal of a membership action plan (MAP), which involves a series of political and military reforms to join the alliance.<\/p>\n
NATO\u2019s Eastern European allies, known as the Bucharest Nine, support a faster-track for Ukraine into the alliance. But other allies are more cautious.<\/p>\n
President Biden has advocated a slower approach, noting this month that Ukraine needs to meet anti-corruption and democratic reform standards.<\/p>\n
The U.S. is also concerned about including Ukraine into NATO while a war is raging with Russia, since doing so would trigger a defense article that brings the allies into direct conflict with Moscow.<\/p>\n
Alp Sevimlisoy, a NATO expert and Millennium Fellow with the Atlantic Council, argued that Russia would likely halt its war if Ukraine is included in NATO. He supported a 12-month or 16-month plan to get Kyiv into the alliance to deter Russia.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019ve done militarily, is ensure that precedent hasn\u2019t been set that Russia is being put into its place,\u201d he told The Hill.<\/p>\n
Still, there are concerns about nuclear war, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has used nuclear arms as blackmail during the conflict.<\/p>\n
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