NATO’s Eastern Flank Reaffirms Support for Ukraine’s Membership Bid
Leaders from Poland, Romania, and Lithuania have declared that NATO’s eastern and northern members remain united in backing Ukraine’s path toward alliance membership, despite rising skepticism from Washington and continued threats from Moscow.
Following a summit of Nordic, Baltic, and Central European countries in the Lithuanian capital, the three nations reaffirmed the bloc’s unwavering position, The Gaze reports, citing Reuters.
“We stand firm on Allied decision and commitment regarding Ukraine’s irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership. Ukraine has the right to choose its own security arrangements and to decide its own future, free from outside interference,” the leaders said in a joint statement on behalf of all participants.
The high-level meeting brought together leaders from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, just weeks ahead of a NATO summit in The Hague.
Although NATO formally supported Ukraine’s “irreversible path” to membership at last year’s Washington summit, U.S. President Donald Trump has since distanced himself from that position, blaming past American backing for Ukraine’s NATO ambitions as a “cause of the war.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to make Ukraine’s NATO prospects a central point of contention, reportedly demanding that Western leaders pledge not to expand the alliance eastward and lift significant sanctions on Moscow as conditions for ending the war.
Monday’s statement from NATO’s eastern flank underscores the growing divide between regional allies, who view Ukraine’s full integration as essential to European security, and voices in Washington pushing for a recalibration of commitments.
As The Gaze previously reported, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha addressed the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s Spring Session with a strong appeal for unity and decisive action from Alliance members ahead of the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague.
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