NATO Summit: Final Document Says Ukraine's Accession is Irreversible - CNN

The draft communiqué of the NATO summit in Washington, DC, defines Ukraine's path to the Alliance as "irreversible".

This was reported by CNN, citing three sources familiar with the situation.

The question of how strong a commitment to Ukraine's future NATO membership should be made has become a key source of debate among the 32 members of the Alliance ahead of this week's summit in Washington.

The final text of the communiqué is still subject to change, but the presence of the "irreversible" language will send an important signal to Kyiv and Moscow. Official Kyiv insisted that the summit decision mention the irreversibility of Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic course.

An unnamed US official said that the White House supports the use of this word in the final communiqué, as long as the document also confirms that Ukraine's work on democratic reforms must continue. According to the official, the final version of the document will contain such a clause.

While many NATO members from Europe have stressed the need for clear language on Ukraine's possible future in the Alliance, U.S. and German officials suggested that the communiqué describe a "bridge" to NATO membership for Ukraine.

At the same time, officials also stressed the importance of "tangible measures" to support Kyiv's fight against Russia.

A senior US administration official said on Friday that the Alliance will make "important new announcements on how we are increasing NATO's military, political and financial support for Ukraine" as part of Ukraine's "bridge to NATO".

Earlier, the White House said that the "bridge to NATO" would provide Ukraine with membership when the political will is there.

Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said in Washington on Monday that Ukraine wants to hear what it has to do to get a "yes" on membership.