NATO’s promises to Ukraine mark real progress
livemint.comRead more of our recent coverage of the Ukraine war As he headed to NATO’s gathering in Vilnius, a tetchy Volodymyr Zelensky called it “unprecedented and absurd" that Ukraine was apparently not being given a clear promise of speedy membership of the alliance. If that was meant as a last-ditch attempt to twist arms, it failed. The final communiqué, as he feared, refers to a need for conditions to be met and for allies to agree, even as it avoids dates and timelines.
That may have cheered Vladimir Putin, who is always on the lookout for signs of Western disunity in the face of his gory invasion of his neighbour. The reality, however, is different. Though the summit could have done more, and avoided the impression of differences with Ukraine, it inflicted several reverses on Russia’s president, with the promise of many more to come.
Mr Putin’s first defeat was over a different expansion of NATO. Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said he is dropping his objections to Sweden’s membership, enabling it to follow its Nordic neighbour, Finland, into the alliance. That will strengthen the Baltic states and the High North, and tie up more of Mr Putin’s resources should he attempt mischief against NATO anywhere along its frontier.
Mr Erdogan has hitherto been equidistant between Russia and NATO. Coming after his defiance of Mr Putin earlier in the week, by repatriating some captured Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol, the concession on Sweden marks a shift. A Turkey that is bound more tightly into the alliance is a diplomatic plus.
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