Group of Eastern NATO Members Demand Alliance Give ‘Multi-Year- Defense Commitment to Ukraine

 

by Kyle Anzalone | Jun 6, 2023

A nine-nation bloc within NATO is preparing to push the alliance to adopt a multi-year plan for arming Ukraine. 

Leaders of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and the Slovak Republic – a subgroup within NATO dubbed the “Bucharest Nine” – met in Slovakia on Tuesday. The gathering was in preparation for the upcoming summit of NATO leaders, in Lithuathina’s capital Vilnius. The Eastern European leaders plan to lobby the alliance to make a multi-year commitment to arm Ukraine. 

“We aim for a more robust, multi–year, and comprehensive support package for Ukraine, which will reinforce its defense capabilities also by implementing NATO standards and increasing interoperability with NATO,” a joint statement said. “We see merit in several Allies’ proposal to establish a Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre with Ukraine based in Poland.” 

The Bucharest Nine will also push to have Kiev’s receive a clear path to NATO membership. “We expect that in Vilnius, we will upgrade our political relations with Ukraine to a new level, and launch a new political track that will lead to Ukraine’s membership in NATO, once conditions allow.” It continued, “We will continue our support to Ukraine on this path.”

The debate over giving Ukraine a path to NATO membership has stirred some frustrations among alliance members. Last month, the Washington Post reported the alliance is divided by East and West. Eastern European members, along with Kiev, seek a concrete path to membership for Ukraine and a clear timeline for when it might be permitted to join. However, some Western European states and Washington do not agree and prefer to focus on the war with Russia. 

In an interview published in the Wall Street Journal on Saturday, Ukrainian President Zelensky threatened to sit out the Vilnius Summit if Kiev is not given signals on membership. “If we are not given a signal in Vilnius, I believe there is no point for Ukraine to be at this summit,” he said.

It is unclear if the US and some Western European nations will relent to the Bucharest Nine’s demands on membership. Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron called for NATO to give “concrete and tangible security guarantees” to Ukraine. However, he noted that membership was unlikely. 

There does appear to be consensus in the alliance for a multi-year plan to modernize Ukraine’s military with Western weapons and training. Macron said, “I think we have to build something between the security provided to Israel and a full-fledged membership.” Polish President Andrzej Duda told the Wall Street Journal last month that Western leaders were supportive of developing ties with Kiev similar to the relationship Washington keeps with Tel Aviv.  

Israel receives at least $3.3 billion in military aid from the US every year. Israel has the status of a “Major Non-NATO Ally,” giving Tel Aviv advance access to American weapons. 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered a similar proposal during a speech in Finland on Friday. “America and our allies are helping meet Ukraine’s needs on the current battlefield while developing a force that can deter and defend against aggression for years to come.” He added, “That means helping build a Ukrainian military of the future, with long-term funding, a strong air force centered on modern combat aircraft, an integrated air and missile defense network, advanced tanks and armored vehicles, national capacity to produce ammunition, and the training and support to keep forces and equipment combat-ready.”

The Bucharest Nine additionally took aim at China and called for NATO to continue to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific. “Any provision of lethal aid by China to the Russian aggressor would be unacceptable and would only prolong the conflict and deepen global instability.” The group added, “At the NATO Summit in Vilnius we expect to further step up our cooperation also with like–minded countries, and particularly with Indo–Pacific partners and with the EU.”

Paris has recently indicated it is uninterested in the alliance ratcheting up tensions with Beijing. The Financial Times reported on Monday that Macron objects to NATO’s plans to open a liaison office in Japan and thinks the alliance should stay in the North Atlantic.

About Kyle Anzalone

Kyle Anzalone is news editor of the Libertarian Institute, opinion editor of Antiwar.com and co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Will Porter and Connor Freeman.

https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/group-of-eastern-nato-members-demand-alliance-give-multi-year-defense-commitment-to-ukraine/