Ukraine-NATO Council: Closer look at first high-level diplomatic summit

The first meeting at the level of heads of foreign affairs

Note that the first meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council took place this summer during the summit in Vilnius. Then such a format was created, which replaced the Ukraine-NATO Commission and gave Kyiv a wider range of opportunities.

From that time until today, the Council met twice, namely at the level of ambassadors in July and later in October. This new format of cooperation raised the status of relations between Ukraine and the Alliance and allowed it to initiate meetings, as well as opened the door to new areas of cooperation.

Today, such a meeting is held at the level of foreign ministers of NATO member countries and with the participation of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. That is, this is the first format of this high-level meeting.

Around 10:20 the meeting officially started. It was opened by the Secretary General of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg.

"It's good to see you all here this morning and welcome to this first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council at the level of Foreign Ministers. We remain unwavering in our commitment to Ukraine. We are determined that Ukraine will one day sit at this table as a full member of our Alliance," Stoltenberg says and announces that the meeting is closed to the press.

Topics to be discussed

It is expected that the meeting will agree on recommendations regarding the reforms that Ukraine needs to carry out in order to become a member of NATO.

Also, the day before, Kyiv approved the draft reform plan for Ukraine's accession to NATO, and Ukraine must present it at the meeting.

As indicated in the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the purpose of Kuleba's visit to this meeting will be:

• mobilization of political and military support from EU and NATO member states,
• promotion of Ukraine's accession to both organizations, in particular in the context of preparations for the next meeting of the European Council in December,
• integration of defense industries of Ukraine and NATO,
• speeding up the production and supply of weapons and ammunition for Ukrainian soldiers.

Kuleba will also inform the allies about the current situation at the front and the priority military needs of Ukraine and will discuss the adapted Annual National Program for 2024 in light of preparations for the Washington NATO Summit.

In addition, the Ukrainian minister will hold a number of bilateral meetings in Brussels, in particular with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and with the ministers of foreign affairs of the Alliance member states.

The first statements of Stoltenberg and Kuleba

Before the start of the first meeting at the NATO headquarters, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Secretary General of NATO had already made their first statements. We briefly mention the key ones.

Kuleba:

• Those who offer Ukraine to make territorial concessions in exchange for membership in NATO should first do so with their own territories.
• In view of the capabilities and management principles, Ukrainian troops are de facto becoming NATO's army.
• Our strategic goal - the restoration of control over the border of 1991 - remains unchanged and nothing will stop us.
• There is no dead end on the front, there is no alternative to Ukraine returning control over its entire territory.

Stoltenberg:

• NATO countries must be ready for new possible Russian attacks. It is important to support Ukraine not only in words but also in deeds.
• All allies agree that Ukraine should be in NATO. Therefore, reforms, the needs of the army, and the situation at the front will be discussed today.
• We firmly support Ukraine and we are sure that one day it will sit at the table as a full member of the Alliance.
• NATO members provide unprecedented assistance to Ukraine: military, financial, and humanitarian. And we also provide assistance with the necessary reforms.

NATO member states, during the summer summit in Vilnius, agreed that Ukraine would be able to join the Alliance without a membership action plan (MAP). However, at that time, Kyiv expected to receive an invitation to join NATO, but this has not happened yet.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recently said that Ukraine would receive an invitation when "all allies agree and conditions are met." In addition, he excluded the membership of Ukraine while it was in a state of war.