NATO declared on Tuesday that Ukraine would be invited to join the alliance, but did not say how or when, disappointing its president but reflecting the resolve by President Biden and other leaders not to be drawn directly into Ukraine’s war with Russia.
The wording means that Mr. Biden, who declared last week that “Ukraine isn’t ready for NATO membership,” and like-minded allies had prevailed over Poland and Baltic nations that wanted a formal invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance as soon as the war ends.
NATO leaders released the document, a compromise product after weeks of argument, at a summit meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Hours earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, apparently aware of what it would say, issued a blast at the NATO leadership.
“It’s unprecedented and absurd when a time frame is not set, neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine’s membership,” he wrote on Twitter before landing in Vilnius.
Persons:
Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, “, ”
Organizations:
NATO, Russia, Twitter
Locations:
Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Baltic, Vilnius, Lithuania