David Stulik: You should be patient but do not relax, do not abandon your efforts
17.07.2023
David Stulik
The results of the Vilnius summit were perceived very differently by various groups. The opinion of David Stulik, who is the senior political analyst of the European Security Center, whether Ukraine got a good result and what it needs to do to become a member of the Alliance, is the following:
Of course, the results of the Vilnius summit are not very satisfactory for Ukraine and for the countries of the eastern flank of NATO. It would be possible to at least accept an invitation to future membership to start negotiations and end them when Ukraine wins this war. Unfortunately, we have stopped in the very process of acquiring NATO membership, we are losing time, and this, as has been said, is a certain signal to Russia that its fears and arguments against Ukraine’s membership are being considered, and it is a bad signal that NATO is paying attention to Russia’s position. That is, Russia, which is not a NATO member, practically influences NATO’s decisions. This is a unique situation because the largest NATO countries are unable to have their own opinion and actively promote their own geopolitical strategic goals.
At the same time, it does not seem to me that there is a risk of getting something like Budapest-2, because although the actual invitation was not formed, the summit gave certain signals. The NATO-Ukraine Council was created, and national commitments regarding military assistance were made. No one doubts the fact that Ukraine should become a member of NATO, and the only problem is that no answer has been received to the question of when and how it will happen. Ukraine should continue to lobby for its position in NATO countries, which were primarily the most cautious because the next summit is in Washington in a year. While the Central European countries thought they would gain membership quickly, the process was not short, unfortunately. Therefore, one should be patient, but not relax, not give up efforts, and, above all, not be offended and not think that Ukraine has been abandoned. This is not true; it did not happen!
Maryna Kovalchuk, Newssky’s own correspondent (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland), head of the V5 Media project, contributed
