The leaders of Europe’s Baltic states on Tuesday reiterated their support for Ukraine’s expedited NATO membership bid, insisting that Kyiv should join the military alliance as soon as its war with Russia is over.
Speaking on the primary day of NATO’s two-day summit, Latvia’s Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš said that every one allies were aligned on the embattled state’s ultimate membership.
“Everyone seems to be on the identical page: Ukraine can be in NATO,” Kariņš told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick.
“I’m convinced that after the war, they can be a member,” he added.
Ukraine’s accession to the alliance is considered one of the key topics on the agenda as NATO members meet in Vilnius, Lithuania this week.
But already Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has slammed as “absurd” the dearth of a particular timeframe offered by allies for his country’s invitation of membership.
“It looks like there isn’t a readiness either to ask Ukraine to NATO or to make it a member of the Alliance,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram Tuesday, ahead of an expected appearance on the summit.
It comes a day after NATO dropped its Membership Motion Plan (MAP) requirement for Ukraine — considered one of the key sticking points in accession negotiations.
Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that she “understands” Zelenskyy’s frustration, but noted that no progress might be made while the war is ongoing.
“That is so far as we are able to get because they’re in a war,” she said.
Nonetheless, the Estonian leader — a fervent proponent of Kyiv’s membership bid whose country also shares a border with Russia — said that a window for accession could come as soon as Russian troops are pushed back from Ukrainian soil.
“When the moment comes when they’re able to defend themselves in order that Russia is pushed back to Russia, the chance window is there. Then, the membership can occur,” Kallas added.
NATO’s expansion has long been some extent of contention for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who claims Kyiv’s accession would pose a threat to Moscow’s national security.