US and Germany Oppose Support for Ukraine's NATO Accession at Summit

The United States and Germany are under intense pressure from their allies to demonstrate greater support for Ukraine's membership in NATO ahead of the summit in Vilnius on 11-12 July.

As Financial Times reports, citing officials briefed on the talks, Washington and Berlin are reportedly in favour of formulating a summit statement that does not contain full support for Ukraine's path to NATO membership, let alone an invitation to Kyiv to join NATO after the war, as demanded by countries in Eastern Europe.

The article also says that other members of the Alliance were "caught off-guard by the conservative US and German stance".

Two officials familiar with the summit's plans told the media outlet that the disagreement threatens to overshadow progress on separate long-term security guarantees for Kyiv involving the UK, France, Germany, the US and other allies.

The Financial Times sources say that since the talks on Sunday, 9 July between NATO ambassadors had failed to reach a compromise on the text of the final statement, it is likely that the leaders of the Alliance will finalise it themselves at the summit.

According to the publication’s sources, opponents of Ukraine's accession to NATO, led by Germany and the United States, say that "NATO cannot agree to anything that appears to suggest Ukraine is on an inevitable path to membership without first meeting rigorous standards on governance, military standards and weaponry, and that the alliance cannot commit to anything without knowing how the war will end, or when."

Earlier, six retired NATO generals signed a letter ahead of the Alliance's summit in Vilnius on 11-12 July, calling for Ukraine's path to NATO membership to be opened as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, Kyiv believes that NATO can invite Ukraine to join even during the war and complete the process when circumstances allow.

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna has added that the entire eastern flank of NATO and several Western European countries are now in favour of inviting Ukraine to join.