NATO member countries still haven't decided what to offer Ukraine at the Alliance summit, which will be held in Vilnius on July 11-12.
This was reported by The Washington Post.
The US, which has the most influence on the decisions of the 31 members of the Alliance, has been maneuvering for months to lower Ukraine's expectations of the NATO summit.
Washington has focused the conversation on security guarantees rather than near-term membership, which many allies believe is impossible to even discuss while Ukraine is at war with Russia.
Earlier, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov noted that the Vilnius summit would give the Alliance an opportunity to correct a mistake made at the Bucharest summit in 2008, when Ukraine and Georgia were told that they would become members at some point in the future, without saying when and how will happen
In retrospect, many officials and analysts say that made the countries targets for Russian invasion -- Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 and last year, when a full-scale invasion began. After all, Russia attacked countries that were deprived of the protection of NATO's collective defense doctrine, according to which an attack on one ally is considered an attack on all.
At the same time, some NATO members still question Ukraine's readiness to join the Alliance. They note that Kyiv still has a long way to go to reform its army and solve the chronic problem of corruption.
Regardless of whether they approve Ukraine's bid for membership or not, Ukrainian officials expect security commitments from Western countries urgently and as soon as possible. Such security guarantees may also serve to deter Russia from any major acts of aggression in the future.
According to diplomats, the details of the security package have not yet been determined. But U.S. and NATO officials have described new proposals for bilateral or multilateral agreements, such as mutual defense pacts or security memorandums with Ukraine.
In the Vilnius Declaration, allies should find such wording that would not give Russia "veto" rights to membership, according to the former assistant secretary general of NATO for defense investments, Camille Grand, who is now a political employee of the European Council on International Relations.
Ukraine's entry into NATO
Ukraine wants to get a political decision on support for accession after the end of the war at the NATO summit in Vilnius. At the same time, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, believes that the country has every reason to do so.
The leader of Ukraine noted that the Alliance's decision to support Ukraine's membership will give greater motivation to our soldiers.
At the same time, the White House noted that Ukraine must meet certain requirements for joining the Alliance, and the country should also implement a number of reforms.
