Ukraine’s path to NATO membership ‘irreversible,’ allies expected to declare
The expected decision would be a major win for Ukraine and make the Washington summit among NATO’s most historic in its 75-year history.
NATO members are likely to declare that Ukraine’s path to membership in the alliance is “irreversible,” a Ukrainian official and a person familiar with the situation said, confirming that Kyiv will see the term it desperately wanted in writing at this week’s Washington summit.
The term is already in a draft version of the joint declaration — in an already agreed-to section written by the United States — and is set to appear in the final version to be signed by all 32 members. The message offers Ukraine the alliance’s word that, as long as Kyiv undergoes democratic reforms, it will inevitably become a full-fledged member of the bloc.
The final text is expected to be locked on Tuesday night and formally released Wednesday, the person said, adding that the word “irreversible” is “likely to be in the final version.” The United States and the vast majority of allies are supportive of the term’s inclusion, continued the person, granted anonymity to preview a high-profile announcement. However, it falls short of Ukraine’s goal of receiving an invitation to join the alliance.
The expected decision is still a stunning development for Ukraine, which has fought Russia’s all-out invasion for two years with NATO’s support, and for many allies who spent weeks of negotiations pushing for the “irreversible” language. It would also prove a massive defeat for Russia, which started the war in part to keep Ukraine from tilting toward the West. That alone might see the Washington summit rank among the most historic in NATO’s 75-year existence.
“The fight now is over how to use this word in the right context,” Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said on the sidelines of the NATO Summit.
“We’ve had sort of an agreement with the United States, so it will be really clear that the path to membership is irreversible. But other allies are really pushing for a stronger wording,” she added. “Great Britain, France, our Baltic friends” all want to make sure that the wording in the declaration is stronger than what the U.S. has pushed, and leaves no room for doubt.
“NATO is slow, but it is moving,” Stefanishyna said. While the draft is still being written, “it will be very clear that it’s the unity of the alliance which backs up the irreversibility of Ukraine’s membership to NATO.”
The Biden administration was initially skeptical about giving Ukraine the guarantee, especially without surrounding language on the multiple, yearslong steps Kyiv must take before becoming a member state. There was also concern among some allies, namely Germany, about overcommitting to Ukraine as Russia’s invasion rages and ahead of any serious reform effort.
Other countries were open about the need for stronger language that would solidify Ukraine in NATO’s future. A European official, granted anonymity to brief reporters on sensitive alliance discussions, said last week that allies had not reached consensus about extending an official invitation to Ukraine to join NATO. But, the official continued, “we are discussing language to at least showcase that Ukraine’s membership is irreversible, that there is no way back — and we’d like to strengthen that language as much as possible.”
Then on Sunday, outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Washington that “we are now negotiating the language, and the language matters. So we are working on the exact language on how to express that Ukraine is going to become a NATO ally.”
But after weeks of hard-fought negotiations, the U.S. now backs the “irreversible” term in the final text, as the document would outline the need for Ukraine to undergo substantial democratic reforms — such as addressing Kyiv’s corruption issues — before it can accede to the alliance.
The move will come the same week that Russia launched a brutal attack on Kyiv, in which cruise missiles slammed into a children’s hospital, killing around 40 people, including children.
The summit will include announcements for more air defense systems for Kyiv, including Patriot and other systems from the U.S., Romania, The Netherlands, Spain and Germany, as well as a major announcement in which over 20 countries that have existing bilateral security agreements with Ukraine will issue a joint statement combining them into a single, NATO-endorsed document.
Asked during an Atlantic Council event Monday about the chances of an “irreversible” designation, Michael Carpenter, the National Security Council’s top Europe official, said to “take a look at the communique.”
“The language, I think, will be very strong, communicating precisely to this point, that Ukraine has a future in NATO and we want to accelerate the process,” he continued.
Speaking to POLITICO last week, Ukraine’s ambassador to NATO, Natalia Galibarenko, said she expected NATO allies to eventually agree on including an “irreversible” section in an official document.
“We would like also to see that the alliance will recognize that we achieved a substantial progress in implementing reforms,” she added.
USA Today was first to report that “irreversible” was making its way into the draft Washington declaration.
Stuart Lau contributed to this report.