As NATO members, in a rare sign disunity, disagree over the United States' decision to supply cluster bombs to Ukraine, the military alliance is expected to drop a major hurdle to Kyiv's bid for membership at a meeting in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.
UPDATE 08h30UT:
NATO opened its summit in Vilnius this Tuesday with fresh momentum after Turkey withdrew its objections to Sweden joining the alliance.
The move is seen as a step toward the unity that Western leaders have been eager to demonstrate in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The decision by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a significant move toward Sweden's membership and will alleviate tensions in the Lithuanian capital.
The deal was reached after days of intensive meetings, and it's poised to expand the alliance's strength in Northern Europe.
As part of the deal, Erdogan said he would ask Turkey's parliament to approve Sweden joining NATO.
Meanwhile, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban – another holdout – is expected to take a similar step.
The outcome is also seen as a victory for US President Joe Biden, who has touted NATO's expansion as an example of how Russia's invasion of Ukraine has backfired on Moscow.
Biden and Erdogan are scheduled to meet Tuesday evening.
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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky voiced hope that the two-day summit would provide a "clear signal" that Kyiv could join the NATO alliance once the war with Russia is over.
The Kremlin fired a warning on Monday, the eve of the start of the summit, that Ukraine's membership would have "very, very negative consequences for the entire security architecture in Europe."
NATO is expected to drop Ukraine's requirement for a Membership Action Plan - a list of political, economic and military goals that other eastern European nations had to meet before joining the alliance.
However, even if the Membership Action Plan requirement is removed, Ukraine will still need to complete further reforms before joining.
❝Freedom is not a given, and it needs constant care❞
— NATO (@NATO) July 9, 2023
NATO Allies are united and determined to protect our values and keep our people safe#NATOSummit | #WeAreNATO pic.twitter.com/I6RiG2AkIS
Turkey stalls on Sweden's bid
As leaders are expected to show unity on Ukraine's membership, members are pressuring Turkey to drop its opposition to Sweden's all-but-cleared membership bid.
Turkey and Hungary remain the only NATO members still standing in the way of the unanimous ratification, and Hungary has strongly signalled it will follow Turkey's lead.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has voiced repeated frustrations with what he calls Sweden's failure to keep its promises to deal with suspected Kurdish militants allegedly "roaming the streets" of Stockholm.
Hours before Sweden's prime minister Ulf Kristersson met Erdogan on Monday afternoon, in a last-gasp effort to bridge the diplomatic impasse, Turkey said it would would relent on Stockholm's NATO candidacy if the European Union re-opened long-stalled membership talks with Ankara.
Turkey formally launched membership negotiations with the bloc in 2005, but the talks stalled in 2016 over European concerns about Turkish human rights.
Cluster bomb concerns
Ahead of the NATO summit, President Biden met with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a stopover in London on Monday, amid British concern over the cluster munitions deal, a key subject for discussion.
Britain is one of more than 120 countries that have signed an agreement banning the production, storage, sale and use of cluster bombs, which rights groups say pose a danger to civilian populations long after they are deployed.
The #CCM ISU expresses its deep regret over the decision of the #US government to transfer #ClusterMunitions to #Ukraine. This act undermines global efforts to eradicate these indiscriminate weapons, which put civilian lives at immediate risk. pic.twitter.com/5lRG4GRbwk
— Convention on Cluster Munitions (@ISUCCM) July 7, 2023
Biden said the decision to send the weapons was "very difficult", but that Ukrainian forces were "running out of ammunition".
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan played down any rift between the two leaders, and within NATO, saying the Biden and Sunak were "on the same page strategically on Ukraine".
However, China denounced the move as 'irresponsible" and said it could lead to 'humanitarian problems".
'New commitment' from Germany
Meanwhile, Germany has announced is will make a significant new pledge of military equipment for Ukraine during the NATO summit to bolster Kyiv's counter-offensive against Russia.
Earlier this year, Berlin started sending advanced Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, after months of pleas from Kyiv for heavy weapons to bolster its fightback against Russia.
The German government has so far delivered 18 of the advanced Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
(with newswires)
