Ukraine pushes for invitation to join NATO

Photo: John Thys Agence France-Presse Dutch NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (R) speaks alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, December 3, 2024.

Agence France-Presse

Published at 1:22 p.m.

• Europe

Less than two months before Donald Trump returns to the White House, Ukraine put pressure on NATO countries on Tuesday to be invited to join them, but the Alliance's foreign ministers, who are meeting in Brussels, have stalled.

The “only real” security guarantee for Ukraine is “full” membership in NATO, kyiv's diplomacy recalled on Tuesday. This membership would constitute an “unacceptable” threat for Russia, the Kremlin retorted.

Very cautious, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte was content to reiterate the Alliance's position of principle. The process leading to Ukraine's accession is “irreversible,” he reminded the press, without however mentioning a timetable.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, however, intends to reiterate this message during a working dinner in Brussels with his 32 NATO colleagues, without any illusions about the chances of being heard this week.

Ukraine wants to approach a possible peace negotiation with Russia from a position of strength and with sufficient security guarantees. “The only effective security guarantee is NATO membership for Ukraine,” Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna assured on this point.

“Monumental decision”

Several countries of the Alliance, led by the United States, are however reluctant to take this “monumental decision”, as one diplomat in Brussels called it.

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“Such a gesture before the arrival of the new administration would make Trump furious and he would immediately take the opposite stance”, admits a European NATO diplomat.

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“I think that joining NATO would once again increase tensions and the possibility of new conflicts tomorrow,” judged Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign Affairs Xavier Bettel.

But, a diplomat at NATO, this should not prevent us from thinking about the guarantees that the Atlantic Alliance, or at least some of its members, could give to Ukraine, particularly at a time when the prospect of peace negotiations seems closer.

Donald Trump has promised to make peace in Ukraine “within 24 hours” but has not really said how he plans to do it.

European NATO countries are wary of being sidelined from any negotiations and several are looking for ways to secure a seat at the table, NATO diplomats said.

“Position of strength”

And some of these countries do not rule out sending troops to Ukrainian soil, for example to monitor the implementation of a possible ceasefire, these diplomats indicated. However, they immediately specified, this discussion is not taking place at NATO, but between European allies. The subject was therefore not on the agenda on Tuesday, and will not be on Wednesday, the second day of this ministerial meeting at NATO headquarters.

“The meeting will focus on how to ensure that Ukraine, when it decides to enter into negotiations, does so from a position of strength,” Mr. Rutte assured on Tuesday.

Because, he stressed, “the front is moving from east to west, and not from west to east.” The Russian army again claimed on Tuesday the conquest of two villages in the east and south of Ukraine, where its troops, more numerous than those of kyiv, are gaining ground on the entire front at a speed unprecedented since March 2022.

“The only way to end the war is when Ukraine in one direction or another achieves successes on the battlefield,” said Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze on Tuesday in an interview with AFP.

To achieve this, kyiv is insistently demanding weapons, and in particular at least twenty new anti-aircraft defense systems, to counter the Russian missiles that are destroying its energy infrastructure, the Ukrainian minister recalled on Tuesday in Brussels.

“We cannot allow Russia to use winter as a weapon of war,” assured Mr. Rutte, alongside Mr. Sybiga. “We must do more.”