VILNIUS – It’s one problem down to the NATO alliance as leaders prepare to meet for a summit in the capital of Lithuania.
Sweden’s difficult membership request was acceptance and the Turkish President at the end of Monday but the difficult issue of creating an official language for the purposes of Ukraine’s membership was not approved.
After intense discussions at the meetings, there was no final agreement on what will be offered to Ukraine, although the NATO ambassador said: “We have made a lot of progress and I am 100 percent optimistic.”
Officials negotiating the Ukrainian language are now expected to meet again on Tuesday, the same day the leaders begin their two-day summit.
“I believe it’s coming together – it’s very close,” said NATO’s second ambassador, who like others was allowed to negotiate difficult talks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promoted the deal on Monday, hoping that NATO would send a clear signal that his country would join after the war.
“Even if different positions are expressed, it is clear that Ukraine should be in the Alliance. Not now – there is a war, but we need a clear signal. And we need this signal right now, “Zelenskyy he said.
Kyiv’s bid to join NATO after the end of hostilities has been widely supported by the alliance’s members, but opposed by Germany and the United States. Although all allies agree that Ukraine will one day become a member, Berlin and Washington are reluctant to give Ukraine a concrete path to membership, preferring to focus on Kyiv’s demands to counter Russian aggression.
“I don’t think there is a consensus in NATO about bringing Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this point, in the middle of the war,” US President Joe Biden said. he told CNN in an interview that aired Sunday. He also said that if Ukraine was a member of NATO, “We are at war with Russia, it would be like that.”
A German official said earlier on Monday: “The time has not come at this meeting to invite people to Ukraine, to take steps to become a member. There is no agreement on this among the allies either.”
Biden, who arrived in Vilnius on Monday, plans to meet with Zelenskyy on Wednesday.
The leaders of the alliance will be able to give their full attention to Ukraine on Tuesday after another major problem – Sweden’s reluctance to become a NATO member – was resolved after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan promised to submit the matter to the Turkish parliament.
Hans von der Burchard contributed to the report.