NATO secretary general: Promise to accept Ukraine into Alliance still stands even if not mentioned in communiqué

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has confirmed that the political commitment by NATO member state leaders to accept Ukraine into the Alliance in the future remains in force, even if this position is not mentioned in the final communiqué following the summit scheduled for 24-25 June in The Hague.

Source: Rutte at Chatham House, reported by Interfax-Ukraine

Details: Rutte stressed that the irreversibility of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic course has been confirmed at the highest level and this position will remain unchanged despite the possible absence of a corresponding reference in the official communiqué.

"This irreversible path of Ukraine into NATO is there and it is my assumption that it is still there after the summit ," he said.

Rutte also emphasised that the topic of Ukraine will most likely be mentioned in the document, although the wording may change depending on the consensus among member states.

"Whether it is again in the communiqué or not, I think that's not relevant," he added, noting that the Alliance is not obliged to repeat already adopted decisions at every summit.

Rutte reiterated that there is currently no unified position among the member states on whether the time has come to accept Ukraine into the Alliance.

Background:

• At the Bucharest summit in 2008, NATO leaders first declared that Ukraine would become a member of the Alliance in the future. Since then, the question of Ukraine's membership has remained open.
• At the end of May, media reported that due to US President Donald Trump, who openly stated the possibility of blocking Ukraine's movement towards NATO, the final communiqué of the NATO summit might be significantly shortened and Russia and Ukraine might not be mentioned.

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