The political dedication to Ukraine's future membership in NATO stays unchanged, even when it’s not explicitly talked about within the remaining communique of the upcoming summit in The Hague, NATO Secretary Basic Mark Rutte stated on June 9.
"The irreversible path of Ukraine into NATO is there, and it’s my assumption that it’s nonetheless there after the summit," Rutte stated at Chatham Home in London.
"Whether or not it’s once more within the communique or not, I feel that's not related, as a result of all of the language we beforehand agreed on is there — till we determine it’s not there."
Rutte's feedback observe reporting that this yr's summit communique, set for launch after the June 24–25 assembly, could exclude references to Russia and Ukraine. This may mark a notable departure from earlier gatherings, the place Kyiv's future in NATO took heart stage.
Ukraine utilized for alliance membership in September 2022, a number of months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Whereas NATO has repeatedly affirmed that Kyiv will finally be part of, it has but to increase a proper invitation.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who is ready to attend the summit, has claimed that Ukraine's NATO aspirations provoked the struggle — a line continuously echoed in Russian propaganda. He additionally signaled plans to cut back U.S. army presence in Europe and has been reluctant to supply new army help to Kyiv.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on June 2 that Ukraine had been invited to the upcoming summit, regardless of earlier hypothesis that the nation could be excluded as a consequence of opposition from the Trump administration.
The Ukrainian president has attended each NATO summit since February 2022: in individual in 2024 in Washington and 2023 in Vilnius, and just about in 2022.
This yr's summit is anticipated to focus extra cautiously on alliance posture and protection spending, as inner divisions floor over help for Ukraine and broader geopolitical commitments.
The Kyiv IndependentOlena Goncharova