Leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) wrapped up a crucial two-day (July 11-12) annual summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, with one new member Sweden, new regional defense plans, and security assistance for Ukraine.
U.S. President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders concluded the summit with pledges of long-term support for Ukraine but no offer of the country’s protection under the alliance’s security umbrella.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the major decisions to adapt the Alliance for the future, agreeing on the most robust defense plans since the Cold War, strengthening their commitment to defense investment, agreed to bring Ukraine closer to NATO, and deepening partnerships around the world. “NATO is more united than ever,” he said, wrapping up the summit in Vilnius.
Key Highlights
Here are some of the highlights from the two-day summit:
Sweden’s NATO accession
Sweden took a big step toward becoming NATO’s 32nd member country after Turkey finally approved the country’s NATO membership after long delays over issues such as Sweden allegedly harboring Kurdish terrorists, especially the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Jens Stoltenberg welcomed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s agreement to forward the accession protocol for Sweden as soon as possible, calling this a historic decision that is “good for Sweden, good for Türkiye, and good for the whole Alliance.”
Ankara’s approval came after Stockholm pledged support for updating Turkey’s customs agreement with the European Union and its desire to have visa-free travel throughout the EU for its citizens. Hours after Turkey said it would allow Stockholm into the military alliance, the United States confirmed it will proceed with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in an apparent trade-off.
G7 security package for Ukraine
In its communiqué, the alliance says that “Ukraine’s future is in NATO,” promising to continue to support the country in its war against Russia by bolstering its defense. G7 leaders announced to help Ukraine bolster its military over the long term. Zelenskyy described the initiative as a deterrent against Russia. “We will not waver,” Biden said. “I mean that. Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken. We will stand for freedom today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.”
Through bilateral security commitments and arrangements aligned with a multilateral framework, each G7 state will each work with Ukraine to ensure the continued provision of –
● security assistance and modern military equipment, across land, air, and sea domains
● support to develop Ukraine’s defense industrial base;
● training and exercises for Ukrainian forces;
● intelligence sharing and cooperation;
● support for cyber defense, security, and resilience initiatives, including to address hybrid threats.
No timeframe on NATO membership for Ukraine
NATO allies have agreed on a new multi-year assistance package to help transition Ukraine from Soviet-era to NATO equipment and standards and make their forces fully interoperable with NATO. At the summit, Stoltenberg chaired the inaugural meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. The NATO allies reaffirmed that Ukraine will become a member of NATO, and agreed to remove the requirement for a Membership Action Plan which includes a more time-consuming process. Both Sweden and Finland were also allowed to skip such a process.
NATO leaders said that they would allow Ukraine to join the alliance “when allies agree and conditions are met” — a statement that came just hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blasted the organization over failure to set a timeline. “It’s unprecedented and absurd when a time frame is set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine’s membership,” Zelenskyy tweeted, complaining about the “vague wording” which suggests “there is no readiness to invite Ukraine to NATO or to make it a member of the Alliance.” However, Zelenskyy later softened his tone, thanking the NATO leaders for direct meetings and urging for as swift accession to the alliance as possible.
What Ukraine gained? Ukraine made significant gains including receiving security guarantees from G7, an agreement to remove certain requirements to join NATO, more military and financial aid and a reaffirmation of support for Ukraine’s eventual membership of NATO.
NATO defense spending
The NATO allies pledged to spend at least 2% of their gross domestic product on their national military budgets, and at least 20% of that amount on new military equipment, research and development, according to the joint statement. They also agreed to modernize and reform forces and capabilities through the integration of innovative technologies.
Estimates show that at least 11 allies should reach the target set by the transatlantic military alliance. The countries that reportedly reached the target in 2022 include U.S., UK, Greece, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and new ally Finland.
Today at #NATO Summit the allies took historic decisions that demonstrate our unity& strength:
— Gitanas Nausėda (@GitanasNauseda) July 11, 2023
– We agreed on new generation regional defense plans
– Ukraine’s path to #NATO was defined
– 2 % GDP on defence was agreed.
Vilnius summit is already the summit of decisions! pic.twitter.com/sQgu57uWQW
New regional defense plans
At the Vilnius summit, NATO allies adopted “the most comprehensive defense plans since the end of the Cold War. They announced new regional plans to provide for 300,000 troops at high readiness, including substantial air and naval combat power. Under the plans, its territory has been divided into three zones – the high north and Atlantic area, a zone north of the Alps, and another in southern Europe.
Allies also approved a new Defence Production Action Plan to accelerate joint procurement, boost production capacity, and enhance interoperability among NATO members.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania airspace cooperation
At the summit, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania signed a Declaration of Cooperation on cross-border airspace. The relevant civil and military authorities in these countries will establish and use suitable airspace for NATO training and exercises, and other air activities within the Baltic region. Air domain represents a critical element of the NATO Alliance for its collective deterrence and defense posture, as demonstrated by the “Air Defender 23” exercise hosted by Germany, which was the largest multinational air defense exercise conducted in NATO’s history.
