Ukraine hardly cited in NATO summit communique
(MENAFN) Ukraine received minimal attention in the final communique from the recent NATO summit in The Hague, where member states focused primarily on increasing defense spending and strengthening internal military cooperation.
The summit’s declaration, released Wednesday, contained only five short paragraphs. Among them was a pledge by NATO members to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, citing what they called the "long-term threat from Russia to Euro-Atlantic security." Moscow has repeatedly rejected such accusations, dismissing them as Western fearmongering to justify higher military budgets.
Ukraine was mentioned just twice in the communique. NATO reaffirmed its commitment to support Kiev and to continue contributing to Ukraine’s defense industry. However, there were no statements regarding Ukraine’s long-sought NATO membership.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky was sidelined during the summit, attending only an informal dinner but not participating in official discussions. According to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, some NATO countries, including the US, intentionally avoided direct meetings with Zelensky.
This marks a stark contrast from last year’s summit, where Ukraine’s potential NATO membership and confrontation with Russia were central issues. At that time, NATO’s declaration suggested Ukraine’s accession was inevitable.
Since then, opposition among NATO members has grown. US President Donald Trump has openly said Ukraine “can forget about” joining NATO, suggesting Kiev’s ambitions may have helped trigger the current conflict.
Russia has consistently stated that Ukraine’s NATO aspirations are a red line and one of the main causes behind the war. Moscow has demanded legally binding assurances that Ukraine will never join any military alliances.
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