The positions of the United States and Germany on the issue of Ukraine’s accession to NATO “softened somewhat” on the eve of the organization’s summit, which will be held on July 11-12 in Vilnius, Politico reports, citing sources among diplomats who deal with the work of the alliance.
According to the interlocutors of the publication, the allies on the eastern flank of the alliance – in Eastern Europe – managed to achieve concessions on this issue. At the summit, the bloc’s members are expected to “go beyond the vague promise” of 2008 that Ukraine “will join NATO at some point,” the newspaper writes.
At the same time, a senior diplomat from Central Europe spoke of a “contingent of skeptics” who want “conditions” to be applied to Ukraine’s membership bid. They want to make sure that the final promises are not made too soon, the source added, to avoid a situation “where ticking the boxes will automatically issue an invitation.”
At the same time, some politicians who publicly support Ukraine’s accession to the alliance privately support the US opinion that this could lead to an escalation of the conflict. Also, the terms of Ukraine’s membership in NATO are considered as a potential part of the peace negotiations, the newspaper notes.
Recall that earlier NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, in an interview with Sky News, said he was confident that the members of the bloc at the summit would come to an agreement on the prospects for Ukraine’s entry into the alliance.
Source: Rosbalt
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