The Chairs of the Foreign Relations Committees of 22 NATO members call on United States Lead

President Biden is on his way to the NATO Summit in Vilnius apparently determined to disappoint and give comfort to the Kremlin.

While most NATO members want the summit to create a clear, unambiguous path for Ukraine accession to NATO the President emphasizes such a path is premature.  The Administration talks in terms of requirements that must be met and cautions that meeting those requirements will take time.  

Washington’s stand is a disappointing juxtaposition from the American leadership role at NATO’s 2008 summit where the United States led support for Ukraine becoming NATO action plan members.  But with NATO requiring unanimity the opposition of Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Ukraine did not get an action plan.  

Things have changed since 2008.  Among other things NATO has benefitted from Ukraine being a NATO Partner country as Ukrainian units have been and are involved in NATO operations and missions including for example Afghanistan, Kosovo, NATO’s Response Force (NRF) and on-going NATO training events and exercises, while significantly advancing its democratization home. And embarrassingly the United States has gone from leader to a drag on Ukraine’s aspirations.

If the Administration’s recalcitrance continues the supposed “leader of the free world” will convey two distinct messages.  First, Ukraine and her people will be told that despite their herculean resistance to Russian assault and good faith cooperation with NATO membership is no more than a distant dream.  Second, the Kremlin will be told continuing its slaughter of innocents, continuing war crimes, genocidal kidnapping of children, destruction of infrastructure will keep Ukraine from NATO.

Washington’s signals led to what seems to me the embarrassing reality of a delegation of chairpersons of parliamentary foreign relations committees from NATO countries coming to Washington to urge (if not plead) for American leadership.  The chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of 22 NATO countries including Germany, France, Italy, Belgium called for Washington to support a “clear path for Ukraine accession to NATO”.  Their statement is set out below.

Please Mr. President, grasp what “superpower” means and requires before Vilnius begins.

THE STATEMENT

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To download the Statement follow the link

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