Ukrane’s 45-year-old President Voldymyr Zelensky said he would not attend next week’s NATO summit in Vilnius, Luthuania unless the 31-member alliance extends a “political invitation” to join NATO. Zelensky knows that the mere mention of joining NATO, let alone joining a summit, would antagonize 70-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin that considers Ukraine’s NATO membership a red line. Ukraine has been embroiled in a blood proxy war with the Kremlin since Feb. 24, 2022 when Putin invaded Ukraine. Among the many reasons citied by Putin for his so-called “technical military operation” was Zelensky’s insistence on joining NATO together with the U.S. arming Ukraine to the teeth. Putin tried for months before the invasion to get 80-year-old President Joe Biden to re-negotiate new security arrangements for Ukraine, other than supplying Kiev lethal weapons.
Putin has growing concerns about NATO’s expansion on the Russian border, especially about the U.S. arming Ukraine on its border. Putin’s invasion prompted NATO membership bids by Sweden and Finland. While Finland has been approved by all 31 nations for NATO membership, Turkey and Hungary have held op approving Sweden. Turkey’s 69-year-old President Recep Tayyip Erodogan claims that Sweden harbors PKK [Kurdistan Workers Party] and YPG [Kurdish Defense Unit] militants, groups Turkey considers terrorists. Russia shares a 1,440 km [830 mile] border with Findland, already seen by Moscow as NATO encroachment. Zelensky’s demand that NATO extend to Kiev a “political invitation” at the July 11 Vilnius summit defies ordinary protocol, requiring any new NATO applicants to go through its Membership Application Plan [MAP] protocol.
MAP protocols require applicants to submit proof to NATO that they meet the political, military and economic standards required for NATO approval. When it comes to finances, Zelensky’s Kiev government is bankrupt, requiring the U.S. to fund the government and war effort. Zelensky wants a “political invitation,” since he was denied by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg “fast-track” membership. Zelensky says he understands NATO’s rule that any applicant cannot be considered if they’re in a state of war. Zelensky, of course, has been in a U.S.-funded proxy with the Kremlin, decimating much of Ukraine’s infrastructure, killing thousands and driving millions more into exile. Zelensky now insists he’d engage in ceasefire or peace talks only afterl every Russian soldier is out of Ukraine. Zelensky knows that Putin had troops in Ukraine before the invasion, and will kept troops after the war ends.
When asked before about the prospects of starting WW III, Zelensky has said it’s already started for Ukraine battling the Russian Federation. Biden told Zelensky early on in the war that wouldn’t send U.S. troops to Ukraine to prevent a wider war, possibly WW IIII. Yet Zelensky has pushed for more lethal weapons, now asking for F-16 fighter jets, to advance his counteroffensive, something that looks stalled or stalemated. After battling the Russia Fedreation of nearly 17 months, Zelensky lost some 25% of Ukraine’s most valuable sovereign territory, including the entire Black Sea coast and all Ukraine’s strategic ports. Promising a powerful counteroffensive armed with U.S., British and German tanks and armored personnel carriers, Zelensky promised to drive Russia out of Ukraine’s sovereign territory in 2023. Now Zelensky says he won’t be pressured by the West to show results.
Asking for NATO membership after told its years-long process tells the real story about Zelensky that he doesn’t listen to NATO officials, hoping Biden can pull a rabbit out of his hat. Biden has no more clout with NATO than any other head of state, requiring Ukraine to go through the MAP process like any other applicant. Yet Zelensky threatens to not show up to Vilnius NATO summit unless Stoltenberg offers him a political invitation, trying to stick it to Putin. Instead of working with U.N. peacemakers for a ceasefire and peace talks, Zelensky wants to keep collecting billions to fund his bankrupt Kiev government and war with the Kremlin. NATO officials have told Zelensky repeatedly they can’t talk about NATO membership until he’s done with the war. U.S. and EU officials are dreaming, no matter what arms Zelensky gets, that the war will end anytime soon.
How does Zelensky assure NATO that he has the budget and cash flow to meet NATO membership requirements? If he keeps the war going long enough, Ukraine will have not economic means to sustain NATO membership. Taking cash from the U.S. to pay Kiev’s civil servants and war effort does not satisfy NATO economic requirements. It’s not enough for Zelensky to boast he’s saving European democracy battling the Russian Federation. Pushing for NATO membership, Zelensky knows it provokes Putin, hoping he attacks another NATO country to finally get ground troops to wage WW III against the Kremlin. Zelensky’s PR teams paints him as David going up against the Russian Goliath but, in reality, he’s pushed for all out war with the Kremlin. Biden didn’t have the sense to tell the former TV comedian to stop the provocations and get to the peace table to end the 16-month-old conflict.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
