“We would go to war with Russia”

at the top of Bucharest 2008the allied countries promised the kyiv government that one day it would become a full member of NATO. After 15 years and 2 invasions by Russia (in 2014 and the current one), Ukraine is still waiting for a concrete answer on the schedule.

President Volodimir Zelensky has again requested this Thursday a “clear” decision at the next summit of the Atlantic Alliance to be held on July 11 and 12 in Vilnius. But the Member States are deeply divided on the accession of Ukraine to the club, as it has been revealed in the informal meeting of foreign ministers that concluded this Thursday in Oslo.

The main reason for discrepancies is the fear of entering into an open and direct conflict with Vladimir Putin. “For almost 75 years, since NATO has existed, you have never included a country where there was a war. That would not work either, because with article 5 we would be in a war between Russia and NATO and I don’t think that is in the interest of Ukraine,” argued the head of Luxembourg diplomacy, Jean Asselborn.

[La UE y la OTAN aceleran la ayuda militar a Kiev y el húngaro Orbán dice que no ganará la guerra]

Although the allies have not stopped putting him off since the outbreak of the war, Zelensky does not give up and continues knocking on the door. “In the summer at the NATO summit in Vilnius, a clear invitation from the members for Ukraine is needed and security guarantees are also needed for the path towards NATO membership,” he said during the meeting of the European Political Community in Moldova.

The Ukrainian president’s main champions in the Atlantic Alliance are Poland and the Baltic countries, which have once again called for a ‘road map’ for kyiv that defines all the steps to become a member of the club. “It’s about time we sat down and found a concrete answer on how Ukraine is going to get closer to NATO and one day become a member of the Alliance,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said in Oslo.

“NATO is a clear and strong security guarantee for Ukraine after the war. We must send a very strong message that there will no longer be any more gray areas in Russia’s neighbourhood”, argues the head of Estonian diplomacy, Margus Tsahkna. kyiv’s entry into the Alliance would be “a clear message for Putin and for Russia, who only understand unequivocal language”, he has insisted.

However, Germany or the United States are much more skeptical about Zelensky’s request. German Foreign Minister, annalena baerbockassures that “NATO’s open door policy is still in force, but at the same time it is clear that we can’t talk about accepting new members who are in the middle of a war“.

[La OTAN enfría la solicitud de entrada de Ucrania: “Nuestra prioridad es dar apoyo inmediato a Kiev”]

Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, which until the outbreak of the war was Putin’s closest ally in Europe, is also opposed to Ukraine joining NATO or being offered an accession schedule. “We must be clear about this: the entry into NATO of a country currently at war cannot be on the agenda,” he wrote. on Facebook the Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjárto.

For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron defends an intermediate solution: offering security guarantees to kyiv, but outside of NATO. A position similar to that expressed by the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. “We have to build something between the security we offer Israel and full NATO membership. It is not certain that there will be a consensus on full membership,” he said Wednesday in Bratislava.

In any case, Macron admits that “if we want a lasting peace, have weight in front of Russia and be credible to the Ukrainians, we must give Ukraine the means to prevent any further aggression and include it in a credible security architecture”. “I am in favor of these guarantees being tangible and credible”, he stressed.

For the head of Spanish diplomacy, Jose Manuel AlbaresNATO must send “a strong political message” of support for Ukraine”. “And of course, progress must be made on what was already transferred to Ukraine at the Bucharest summit”, he added. In other words, Spain does support work on a roadmap towards accession.

In the final press conference at the end of the Oslo meeting, the Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, has been convinced that the allies will be able to overcome their divisions. “We have had a good discussion on all these issues and I am confident that we will reach a consensus by the Vilnius summit.”

Stoltenberg assures that all the allies agree that the doors of NATO remain open and that Ukraine will one day be a member of the club. “Decisions on accession are made only by the allies and Ukraine. Russia has no veto power“, he indicated.

At the same time, the NATO Secretary General has reiterated that the most urgent task now is to continue providing military support to Ukraine to win the war and regain its territory. “When the war is over, we need to ensure that history does not repeat itself, that the pattern of Russian aggression against Ukraine stops really. And therefore we need a framework to guarantee the security of Ukraine after the war,” he concluded.