NATO agrees to drop Membership Action Plan requirement for Ukraine

NATO countries have agreed to abolish the Membership Action Plan requirement to accelerate Ukraine’s accession, Alliance head Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference marking the end of the first day of the NATO summit in Vilnius.

The members also approved a long-term Ukraine support programme to help the land transition to NATO standards as well as the creation of the NATO — Ukraine Council.

Stoltenberg said that Ukraine would be invited to join NATO once all the allies have agreed and “conditions have been met”, adding that he was looking forward to meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the inaugural meeting of the NATO — Ukraine Council.

“We want good governance, we want modern defence and security institutions, and we want armed forces which are interoperable with NATO”, Stoltenberg said.

Anti-corruption measures were among the other requirements mentioned for Ukraine’s accession. Stoltenberg also pointed out that Ukraine would be unable to join the Alliance while the war is ongoing.

“We fully support Ukraine’s right to choose its own security arrangements. Ukraine’s future is in NATO. We reaffirm the commitment we made at the 2008 Summit in Bucharest that Ukraine will become a member of NATO, and today we recognise that Ukraine’s path to full Euro-Atlantic integration has moved beyond the need for the Membership Action Plan”, the statement issued by NATO heads of state and government reads.

“Allies will continue to support and review Ukraine’s progress on interoperability as well as additional democratic and security sector reforms that are required.”

The Lithuanian capital is hosting the NATO summit on 11-12 July.