NATO to unveil “bridge” to Ukraine’s membership at Washington summit

At the summit in Washington, which will be held from July 9 to 11 this year, the North Atlantic Alliance will present Ukraine with a package of security measures that will serve as a "bridge" to membership.

According to DefenseNews, the United States ambassador to NATO, Julianna Smith, stated this during the Defense Writers Group round table.

"Part of the package will be the language we use to describe Ukraine's membership aspirations in the declaration itself. Part of it will be the institutionalization of certain bilateral support currently provided to Ukraine and its transfer under NATO command," the US representative explained.

Smith noted that the July summit in honor of the 75th anniversary of the military bloc will also focus on:

• regional defense;
• and deterrence plans for northern, central, and southern Europe.

"This will mean a significant change in the Alliance in the way countries invest, procure, cooperate on the implementation and execution of these regional plans," the ambassador said.

In addition, the summit will also discuss the distribution of defense spending. As Smith emphasized, it is expected that a little more than 20 countries will spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense – this is the goal set by the Alliance.

For reference:

It should be noted that this year's NATO summit will be held from July 9 to 11 in Washington, United States.

The leaders of NATO member states will discuss ways to strengthen support for Ukraine during the upcoming July meeting of the North Atlantic Alliance.

As Rubryka already reported, on May 31, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that a special feature of the NATO summit on the occasion of the Alliance's 75th anniversary will be "a very strong package for Ukraine."

On the same day, the Secretary General of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, stated that at the meeting in Prague, the NATO allies made progress on three issues: better coordination of the Alliance in the matter of arms supply and personnel training, determination of long-term financial support for Ukraine, and Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration.

Moreover, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg invited President Volodymyr Zelensky to the anniversary summit of the Alliance in Washington on July 9-11.