According to UK media reports citing an alliance source, Germany is set to advocate against granting Ukraine NATO membership at the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania. Berlin aims to emphasize security assurances to Kyiv over immediate membership, aiming to avoid the risk of a potential conflict with Russia.
Germany prefers a gradual approach, seeking time to develop guarantees and prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from testing Article 5. Instead of offering NATO membership, the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union are reportedly working on "Bucharest-plus," a series of bilateral security offerings to Ukraine.
These individual security guarantees would be consolidated into a comprehensive agreement, a "Memorandum of Understanding," endorsed by NATO and the EU. This alternative proposal is considered the "next best offer" for Ukraine. Ukraine applied for fast-tracked NATO membership in September 2022 following the start of the Russian military operation earlier that year. While NATO has expressed support for Ukraine's aspirations, the approval of its application has been delayed due to Ukraine's active involvement in the ongoing armed conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hopes for a clear invitation to join NATO at the Vilnius summit, expressing disappointment over the lack of a definitive response regarding both EU and NATO membership aspirations.
