Nato: Warm words but a diplomatic reality check for Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelensky may or may not be a Rolling Stones fan - but after this Nato summit, he is probably familiar with their song entitled You Can't Always Get What You Want.

Volodymyr Zelensky - Sunak

Ukraine's president came to Vilnius, Lithuania, with high expectations.

He was looking for an assurance that his country would join Nato after the war with Russia was over. He wanted membership of the world's most powerful military alliance to be a beacon of hope for his people, the ultimate peace dividend that could ensure that never again would Russian troops despoil the Ukrainian homeland.

Instead, Mr Zelensky was simply told Ukraine would be invited to become a member "when allies agree and conditions are met". So far, so noncommittal.

Not surprisingly Ukraine's president hit the roof, saying it was "absurd" for Nato leaders not to give even so much as a timetable. The conditions, he said, were "vague".

And he was furious at the idea that somehow Ukraine's membership of Nato would somehow be a bargaining chip for post-war negotiations with Russia.

But once President Zelensky met Nato leaders face-to-face, the diplomatic dust settled. They fell over themselves on Wednesday to assure him that things had changed, that Ukraine would join Nato.

UK's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the country belonged in the alliance. Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said they met as equals on Wednesday, but would do so as allies in the future. And President Joe Biden - who had done so much to limit what Nato said officially about potential membership - told Mr Zelensky that it was going to happen. Ukraine, he said, was moving in the right direction.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the summit showed there was now a cultural acceptance that Ukraine belonged in Nato. He said that there were no longer any countries asking "if" Ukraine should join, only "when".

That is a lot of warm words for Mr Zelensky to take home to Kyiv in his summit goodie bag.

source: bbc