Summit sees Baltic leaders support Kyiv’s NATO membership aspiration

The leaders of Europe’s Baltic states reiterated their support for Ukraine’s accelerated NATO membership bid, emphasizing the importance of Ukraine joining the military alliance once its conflict with Russia is resolved.

During the first day of the NATO summit, Krišjānis Kariņš, the Prime Minister of Latvia, stated that all allies were in agreement regarding Ukraine’s eventual membership in NATO.

“Everyone is on the same page: Ukraine will be in NATO,” Kariņš confidently assured CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick.

“I firmly believe that they will become a member after the war,” he further added.

Ukraine’s inclusion in the alliance is a major topic of discussion at the NATO gathering in Vilnius, Lithuania this week.

However, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the lack of a specific timeline for his country’s invitation to join NATO, describing it as “absurd.”

“It seems that there is neither willingness to invite Ukraine to NATO nor to grant it membership in the Alliance,” Zelenskyy expressed on Telegram prior to his anticipated appearance at the summit.

This statement followed NATO’s decision to drop its requirement of a Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Ukraine, which had been a significant stumbling block in the negotiations for accession.

Kaja Kallas, the Prime Minister of Estonia, sympathized with Zelenskyy’s frustration, understanding that progress cannot be made while the war is ongoing.

“Given that they are engaged in a war, our support can only go so far,” she remarked.

However, Kallas, a staunch advocate for Ukraine’s membership bid and whose country shares a border with Russia, pointed out that an opportunity for accession may arise once Russian forces are pushed back from Ukrainian territory.

“When the time comes and Ukraine can effectively defend itself, pushing Russian forces out, then the window of opportunity for membership will open,” Kallas explained.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has consistently opposed NATO’s expansion, claiming that Ukraine’s inclusion would jeopardize Moscow’s national security.