Dmytro Kuleba: There Will Be No MAP Requirement on Ukraine’s Path to NATO

NATO member states reached a consensus on removing the requirement for a mandatory Membership Action Plan (MAP) from Kyiv’s path to joining the Alliance.

“Following intensive talks, NATO allies have reached consensus on removing MAP from Ukraine’s path to membership. I welcome this long-awaited decision that shortens our path to NATO,” Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba posted on Twitter.

He also noted that it is the best moment to offer clarity on the invitation to Ukraine to become a member.

At the same time, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk reported that the heads of the parliaments of Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, and Poland called on the NATO Vilnius Summit participants to undertake that the Ukrainian state will become a member of the Alliance.

“In Riga, the heads of the parliaments of Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, and Poland adopted an important joint statement. This is the last decision at a high parliamentary level regarding Ukraine’s membership in the Alliance ahead of the NATO Summit in Vilnius,” Stefanchuk noted.

The heads of the parliaments called on the allies to work closely together to develop security commitments for Ukraine, which would in no way be an alternative to the country’s membership in NATO and should not slow down the progress of Euro-Atlantic integration.

They also urged their partners to support the peace formula proposed by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.

In addition, the speakers of the parliaments of Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, and Poland called on the NATO Vilnius Summit participants to continue coordinated measures to ensure Ukraine’s urgent needs in military and defence equipment.

Background

MAP is a “preliminary stage” of NATO membership, during which a candidate country receives an individual national programme of preparation for future membership. Many of the current members of the Alliance required a MAP before joining, but Kyiv may not need one, like Finland and Sweden.

Bohdan Marusyak