NATO Chief Says No Timeline Set For Ukraine’s Membership; China Issues Warning

NATO has said that it would allow Ukraine to join the alliance "when allies agree and conditions are met”.

NATO’s statement comes hours after Ukriane President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lambasted the organisation's failure to set a timetable for his country to join the alliance.

"We reaffirmed Ukraine will become a member of NATO and agreed to remove the requirement for a membership action plan," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was quoted by AP as having said. 

"This will change Ukraine's membership path from a two-step path to a one-step path," he said, as per the report.
Zelenskyy has pushed back sharply against the decision.

"It's unprecedented and absurd when a time frame is set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine's membership," Zelenskyy said.

He added: "While at the same time, vague wording about conditions' is added even for inviting Ukraine. It seems there is no readiness to invite Ukraine to NATO or to make it a member of the Alliance."

NATO membership would afford Ukraine protection against a giant neighbour that annexed its Crimean Peninsula almost a decade ago and more recently seized vast swaths of land in the east and south. 

NATO membership for Ukraine would mean that it needs to reform its security institutions, improve governance and curb corruption — work that would also ease the country's path into the European Union, the report mentioned.

Meanwhile, Stoltenberg as per the report, said the most important thing now is to ensure that his country wins the war, because "unless Ukraine prevails there is no membership to be discussed at all."

Zelenskyy is expected to meet Wednesday with US President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders.

There have been sharp divisions within the alliance over Ukraine's desire to join NATO, which was promised back in 2008 even though few steps were taken toward that goal.

On Wednesday, the leaders and Zelenskyy are set to launch a new, upgraded forum for their cooperation: a NATO-Ukraine Council, where all parties can convene crisis talks if their security is threatened, the report said.

On the other hand, Russia’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, as per the report, has said that NATO's expansion is "one of the reasons that led to the current situation."

"It looks like the Europeans don't understand their mistake," Peskov was having said. 

He warned against putting Ukraine on a fast track for NATO membership.

"Potentially it's very dangerous for the European security. It carries very big risks," Peskov said.

Meanwhile, China's mission to the European Union has issued a statement expressing strong opposition to NATO's "eastward movement into the Asia-Pacific region".

China has cautioned that any actions perceived as a threat to Beijing's rights would be met with a resolute counteraction, Reuters reported.

The statement, released on Tuesday, stated that China rejects the references to China in NATO's joint communique from the summit held in Vilnius, Lithuania, the report said.

It further emphasized China's commitment to firmly protect its sovereignty, security, and development interests.

"Any act that jeopardises China's legitimate rights and interests will be met with a resolute response," it said, as per the report.

Leaders from Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand participated in the two-day summit, representing the Asia-Pacific region.

China expressed its deep concern over NATO's repeated assertions of being a "nuclear alliance" in the communique, emphasizing that such statements would only heighten tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, it said.

During his second participation in the NATO summit, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida aimed to emphasize the importance of the military alliance to be mindful of risks in East Asia.

Meanwhile, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol sought enhanced international security cooperation in light of increasing threats from North Korea and the ongoing tension related to China.