Zelensky strikes more conciliatory tone after NATO criticism

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday struck a more conciliatory tone on the subject of Ukraine joining NATO after he raised criticism this week over his country not being formally invited to join the alliance. 

Zelensky said at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday that Ukraine has already come a “long way in interoperability” with the organization and praised NATO’s decision to remove the need for procedural step — for Ukraine to have a Membership Action Plan — to join the alliance. 

A Membership Action Plan lays out a process for NATO applicants to submit annual updates on political, economic, defense, security and legal measures they are taking in preparation to join the alliance. 

But Zelensky said a direct invitation for Ukraine to have joined NATO would have been ideal. 

“We can state that the results of the summit are good, but if there had been an invitation, they would have been perfect,” he said. 

The press conference came after Stoltenberg and Zelensky met at NATO’s annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. 

Zelensky previously issued sharper criticism of the plan that Stoltenberg laid out on Tuesday to make the process for Ukraine to join easier but not set a clear timeline on when Ukraine would join the alliance. 

The NATO chief called for increased support and relations between Ukraine and the organization, a council to work with Kyiv and the removal of the Membership Action Plan from the process. But Zelensky said after his announcement that the lack of a timeline for Ukraine to be invited or become a member is “unprecedented and absurd.” 

The Ukrainian president took a calmer approach during Wednesday’s press conference, thanking Stoltenberg for the attention he has provided to Ukraine. 

Zelensky said NATO views Ukraine as a future member of the alliance and as a “winner in this war for freedom and human rights.” He added that he views the upcoming council as an instrument for Ukraine to eventually join, not just one for it to participate. 

“I am confident that Ukraine will join NATO after the war,” he said. “We will do everything for this.”

President Biden and White House national security spokesperson John Kirby both in recent days indicated that Ukraine would not join NATO in the near future, at least while the war in the region was still going on because the country’s membership would likely put the alliance at war with Russia. 

They noted that while Ukraine still needs to make additional political reforms, they expect Ukrainian membership in NATO is in the future.