{"id":1966145,"date":"2023-07-06T20:34:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T00:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sweden-membership-is-nato-summits-million-dollar-question-but-ukraine-will-be-its-focus\/"},"modified":"2023-07-06T20:35:44","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T00:35:44","slug":"sweden-membership-is-nato-summits-million-dollar-question-but-ukraine-will-be-its-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sweden-membership-is-nato-summits-million-dollar-question-but-ukraine-will-be-its-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweden&#8217;s NATO membership is the key concern at the summit, but Ukraine will take center stage."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsweden-membership-is-nato-summits-million-dollar-question-but-ukraine-will-be-its-focus%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1966145&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"post_content\">\n<div class=\"aplayer_app\" data-source=\"https:\/\/vs1.youmaker.com\/assets\/2023\/0707\/12bd9d35-899d-4bc4-a5c1-03f0cb670a07\/audio.mp3?length=6871437&#038;duration=573\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>Defense ministers and other officials from all 31 nations in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) gather between July 11\u201312 in Vilnius, Lithuania, for a meeting that could define the 75-year-old alliance\u2019s next century.<\/p>\n<p>On tap is NATO\u2019s first updated battle plan since the fall of the Soviet Union, a discussion about membership funding levels, Sweden\u2019s proposed entry, and clarifications on \u201cpathways\u201d for Ukraine to join while drawing support from individual member nations, but not the alliance itself, in its war to repel Russia\u2019s invasion.<\/p>\n<p>And while no one from the Ukrainian government has been officially invited to attend, \u201cUkraine will be the most important item on the summit agenda next week,\u201d said Sean Monaghan, a Visiting Fellow on Europe, Russia, and Eurasia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5369898\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/07\/02\/id5369898-Kherson-shelling-1-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tUkrainian State Emergency Service firefighters put out a fire at a house destroyed in a Russian shelling in a residential neighborhood in Kherson, Ukraine, on July 1, 2023. (Evgeniy Maloletka\/AP Photo)<br \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<p>Mr. Monaghan made the comment during a 90-minute July 6 \u201cvirtual discussion\u201d on NATO defense and deterrence in Washington.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe point of all this is\u2014strengthening NATO\u2019s defense and deterrence helps Ukraine and NATO allies,\u201d he said, noting Ukraine\u2019s limbo NATO status \u201cenables NATO allies to help Ukraine, to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sweden-membership-is-nato-summits-million-dollar-question-but-ukraine-will-be-its-focus\/\" title=\"Sweden's NATO membership is the key concern at the summit, but Ukraine will take center stage.\">provide military assistance kind<\/a> of without fear of reprisal, so a strong defense in NATO\u2019s interests is in Ukraine\u2019s interests\u201d and vice-versa.<\/p>\n<p>Much of the presentation focused on the revised NATO battle plan, its first update since the 1980s, and the CSIS launch of a new report, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.csis.org\/analysis\/repel-dont-expel\">Repel, Don\u2019t Expel: Strengthening NATO\u2019s Defense and Deterrence in the Baltic States\u201d<\/a> by Mr. Monaghan and CSIS International Security Program Senior Adviser Mark F. Cancian.<\/p>\n<p>But the questions about Ukraine\u2019s entry into NATO, in limbo since 2008, and Sweden\u2019s more recent request for admission are certain to generate the most attention during the summit.<\/p>\n<h2>Ukraine Not Invited To Summit<\/h2>\n<p>Eastern European member nations want the summit to produce \u201ca road map\u201d that plots concrete steps Ukraine can take to enroll in NATO.<\/p>\n<p>Specifically, they support a British proposal that would clarify vagaries in a Membership Action Plan the alliance crafted for Ukraine in 2008.<\/p>\n<p>That plan said Kyiv would become a member, eventually, but did not include a formal invitation nor a timetable for when it would be enrolled.<\/p>\n<p>Others in the alliance, including the United States and Germany, maintain such an overt overture now could be counter-productive in convincing Russia that Ukraine\u2019s membership in NATO is not a security threat to Moscow.<\/p>\n<p>NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly said he opposes any consideration during the summit of Ukraine joining the alliance while it is at war with Russia.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, NATO has not even issued a formal invitation for the Ukrainian government to send representatives to the gathering.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5265994\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/05\/15\/id5265994-Volodymyr-Zelenskyy-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tUkraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attends a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-affirms-military-support-for-ukraine-ahead-of-putin-meeting\/\" title=\"Biden Affirms Military Support For Ukraine Ahead Of Putin Meeting\">joint news briefing<\/a> with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 20, 2023. (Alina Smutko\/Reuters)<br \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<p>Nevertheless, there will be \u201csome who are very eager for the Vilnius summit to make some kind of commitment to Ukraine\u2019s eventual NATO membership,\u201d Hudson Institute Keystone Defense Initiative Senior Fellow and director Rebeccah Heinrichs said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI still think that is really too premature,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think that the NATO alliance is sufficiently bold enough now\u2014in insisting that Ukraine win\u2014and, I think, until Ukraine gets Russia out of its territory and regains its territory, discussions about Ukraine joining NATO are simply premature.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is pretty simple\u2014there\u2019s too much uncertainty not to hedge\u201d on Ukraine\u2019s 2008 NATO admission request, agreed former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy Michael C. Ryan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo the right strategy here is to hedge,\u201d he continued. \u201cYou know, there is uncertainty about the battlefield situation in Ukraine. There is uncertainty about Mr. Putin in his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-uvalde-school-shooting-was-a-failure-of-leadership-not-gun-laws\/\" title=\"The Uvalde School Shooting Was A Failure Of Leadership, Not Gun Laws\">decision-making abilities<\/a>, uncertainty about the fragility of his regime.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd if you\u2019re in a situation of uncertainty, hedging is the best strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Israel-Type Security Assurance For Ukraine<\/h2>\n<p>But there are things NATO can be certain of, Mr. Ryan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s not much uncertainty about a few things. [With] Mr. Putin, the gloves are off,\u201d he said, calling Russia \u201ca violent revisionist state\u201d that NATO, European Union, and the United States must contend with by building a layered, integrated defense\u2014which begins by helping Ukraine in its war with Russia.<\/p>\n<p>NATO leaders are expected to discuss security assurances for Ukraine although the pledges will come from individual nations and not the alliance itself.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_5374521\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2023\/07\/05\/id5374521-Sweden_Biden-1200x800.jpg\"><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><noscript><\/noscript><\/figcaption><\/a><br \/>\n\t\tSwedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson looks on during a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bill-barr-did-not-see-fraud-because-he-refused-to-look\/\" title=\"Bill Barr Did Not See Fraud Because He Refused To Look\">final press conference<\/a> on the second day of a meeting of the European Council at The Europa Building in Brussels on June 30, 2023. (John Thys\/AFP via Getty Images)<br \/>\n\t<\/figure>\n<p>Mr. Ryan said those security assurances and military assistance need to be coordinated in a way that assumes Ukraine will eventually be a NATO member or, at least, an ally of the alliance.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat I would expect to see, what I hope to see\u2014that doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s going to happen\u2014is an acceleration of the mechanisms to transform the Ukrainian military into a NATO military,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn other words, to deepen the level of planning cooperation, to deepen the industrial defense cooperation, so that we can start to transform the Ukrainian defense industry into a more Western, more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/russias-defense-industry-is-in-serious-trouble-due-to-sanctions\/\" title=\"Russia's Defense Industry Is In Serious Trouble Due to Sanctions\">modern defense industry<\/a> so that they\u2019re able to produce the types of NATO interoperable equipment they will need on the day that they do become members after they are victorious in the war.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Monaghan said in terms of the United States\u2019 sustained commitment to Ukraine, he could not say if it would resemble \u201cIsrael type\u201d of guarantees but it would best sustained by the American-led Ukraine defense contact group and remain \u201coutside of NATO structures.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Turkey Still Objects To Sweden<\/h2>\n<p>For a dec<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Defense ministers and officials from all 31 NATO nations meet in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 11-12. This crucial meeting may shape the future of the 75-year-old alliance. Key topics include NATO&#8217;s updated battle plan and discussions on membership funding levels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":509,"featured_media":1966146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1966145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1966145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/509"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1966145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1966145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1966146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1966145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1966145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1966145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}