NATO summit decision: Ukraine's path to full membership is irreversible

Leaders of the NATO member states have unanimously supported the Alliance’s new wording with regard to Ukraine’s future NATO accession.

Source: European Pravda correspondent in Washington

Details: There is a separate section in the summit’s decision on political relations with Ukraine, and the decision is more ambitious than the 2023 Vilnius declaration. The key difference is a detailed statement that Ukraine’s full NATO membership is irreversible.

"We will continue to support it [Ukraine] on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership," the declaration says. "Ukraine’s future is in NATO."

As is known, NATO decisions are only adopted if no state opposes any of the provisions.

As previously announced by NATO officials, the declaration also introduces the notion of the "bridge to membership" proposed by the US, but gives no definition of it. Instead, the Alliance "welcomes the concrete progress Ukraine has made since the Vilnius Summit on its required democratic, economic, and security reforms" and commits to supporting "democratic and security sector reforms, which NATO Foreign Ministers will continue to assess through the adapted Annual National Programme".

Background: 

• Earlier, the President of Finland explained that he considers it important to send a signal to the Kremlin that Ukraine’s path to NATO is irreversible.
• However, some allies believe that NATO should make even more ambitious statements – Polish President Andrzej Duda would like Ukraine to be invited to join NATO at the next summit.

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