At the 1999 Washington Summit, the Membership Action Plan was launched to help other aspirant countries prepare for possible membership. The Allies see the closer integration of Western Balkan countries into Euro-Atlantic institutions as essential to ensuring long-term self-sustaining stability in this region, where NATO has been heavily engaged in peace-support operations since the mid-1990s. Together with this letter they also formally submit their individual reform timetables. It also provides the institutional basis for NATO's cooperation with ministries and agencies engaged in implementing defence and security sector reform in Ukraine. Our focus now is providing immediate support to help Ukraine defend itself against the brutal Russian invasion. 29-30 June 2022: Heads of State and Government from Finland, Georgia, Sweden and Ukraine, and the Defence Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina take part in the NATO Summit in Madrid. The NATO Representation to Ukraine leads on the provision of strategic-level advice under NATO's Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine. Since 1949, NATOs membership has increased from 12 to 30 countries through eight rounds of enlargement. But Ukraine is fighting another, lower profile war against the corruption that spread under its former President Yanukovych. Ukraine and Western governments described those votes as bogus, illegitimate and conducted at gunpoint. The first three rounds of enlargement which brought in Greece and Trkiye (1952), West Germany (1955) and Spain (1982) took place during the Cold War, when strategic considerations were at the forefront of decision-making. 4 December 2009: NATO foreign ministers invite Montenegro to join the MAP. The Joint Working Group is also a forum in which Ukraine's defence industry reform efforts are discussed. Invitees accede to the North Atlantic Treaty in accordance with their national procedures. Ukraine has engaged constructively towards a settlement. The letter on Sunday also did not provide such a timeline, though Zelenskyy thanked the countries for publicly supporting Ukraine becoming a member. 18 February 1952: Accession of Greece and Trkiye. Moreover, it led NATO to invoke Article 5 of the Washington Treaty for the very first time in its history. It enhances awareness and aviation safety through the mutual sharing of air situation data, which improves the operational effectiveness of air defence through the identification, classification and potential de-confliction of aircraft. Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme. We hear from a refugee who fled to Kiev who says the opposite is happening. Sanctions relief in the absence of significant moves would undermine the Wests credibility and risk further destabilisation. Allies have placed thousands of additional forces at high readiness, ensuring that the NRF continues to have the speed, responsiveness and capability to defend NATO territory and populations. Since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and destabilisation of eastern Ukraine in 2014, experts have provided advice on Ukraine's contingency plans and crisis management measures to defend critical energy infrastructure and protect the civilian population. Russia promised to protect Crimeas Tatars when it annexed the peninsula. "Referendums have no legal value, under international law the regions are and remain territories of Ukraine and Ukraine is ready to do anything to take them back," Mikhailo Podolyak, Zelenskiy's adviser, told Italian La Repubblica. #NATO Defence Ministers met at a critical moment in #Russia s war on #Ukraine. Since 2004, the NATO-Ukraine Joint Working Group on Defence Technical Cooperation has worked toward increased cooperation in capability development, defence equipment procurement processes, and the development of technical standards. NATO Review travelled to the southern Ukrainian region to find out the secret of its success. Zelenskyy, who has remained firm in his stance to stop Ukraine from falling into Russian hands, had submitted an accelerated application to join the Nato military alliance. The nine NATO countries in Central and Eastern Europe fearful that Russia could target them next if it isnt stopped in Ukraine urged a response to the annexation. NATOs door remains open to any European country in a position to undertake the commitments and obligations of membership, and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area. Based on the findings of the Study on Enlargement, the Alliance invited Czechia, Hungary and Poland to begin accession talks at the Alliances Madrid Summit in 1997. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg gave a similar response on Sunday, telling Chuck Todd on NBCs Meet the Press that Ukraine has the right to choose what kind of security arrangements it wants to be part of, but that any decision on membership has to be taken by consensus., After the annexation, the U.S. sanctioned over 1,000 people and firms connected to Russias invasion, including its Central Bank governor and families of National Security Council members. Since 2014, regular consultations have taken place in the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC) in view of the direct threats faced by Ukraine to its territorial integrity, political independence and security. Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. The talks take place in two sessions with each invitee. Copyright 2022 Living Media India Limited. When Russia annexed Crimea, it affected the whole of the Black Sea region. At that point US and most likely NATO will step in regardless of Ukraine not being in NATO. A country needs approval from all 30 members to join NATO, and Ukraine has received mixed responses in the past from the alliance due to its geographic proximity to Russia. The United States imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia, targeting hundreds of people and companies, including those in Russia's military-industrial complex and lawmakers. These Trust Funds provide resources to support capability development and sustainable capacity-building in key areas. In May 2022, Finland and Sweden declared their intent to join NATO, and jointly presented their official letters of application to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Documents on Canadian External Relations, Vol. October 1990: With the reunification of Germany, the new German Lnder in the East become part of NATO. The Allies condemn and will not recognise Russia's illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea, and its destabilising and aggressive activities in eastern Ukraine and the Black Sea region. Some were concerned about the possible impact on Alliance cohesion and solidarity, as well as on relations with other states, notably Russia. In addition to the Ukraine CAP Trust Fund projects described above, NATO's cooperation with Ukraine has been implemented through the following programmes and initiatives: Furthermore, cooperation has been organised through several sub-groups of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, including: Ukraine has also provided support for NATO-led operations and missions, enhancing the interoperability of Ukrainian troops with NATO armed forces. 6 February 2019:The Allies sign the Accession Protocol of the Republic of North Macedonia, following which the country takes part in NATO activities as an invitee. Being a country already at war complicates the request. The other member countries are: Greece and Trkiye (1952), Germany (1955), Spain (1982), Czechia, Hungary and Poland Ministers also reiterate their decisions at Bucharest and subsequent decisions concerning Georgia, welcoming the progress the country has made in coming closer to the Alliance and expressing their determination to intensify support for Georgia. NATOs open door policy is based upon Article 10 of the Washington Treaty, which states that membership is open to any European State in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area. Ukraine also participates regularly in activities organised by NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centreand has itself hosted multiple disaster response exercises. The Republic of North Macedonia became the latest country to join the Alliance on 27 March The sham referenda in these regions were engineered in Moscow and imposed on Ukraine. This would include acceptance at the time that they join of all the principles, policies and procedures previously adopted by Alliance members. Being a country already at war complicates the request. Against the background of Russia's aggressive actions against Ukraine not just the illegal annexation of Crimea, but also the use of cyber attacks, disinformation and other hybrid activities theNATO-Ukraine Platform on Countering Hybrid Warfarewas established at the NATO Summit in Warsaw in July 2016. A month into the war with Russia, Zelenskyy had shown willingness not to seek NATO membership in exchange for a cease-fire and the withdrawal of Russian troops and a guarantee of Ukraine's security. The European Union has condemned Russias land-grab. NATOs door remains open to any European country in a position to undertake the commitments and obligations of membership, and contribute to security in the Euro-Atlantic area. Their aim is to obtain formal confirmation from the invitees of their willingness and ability to meet the political, legal and military obligations and commitments of NATO membership, as laid out in the Washington Treaty and in the Study on NATO Enlargement. Practical support to Ukraine the Comprehensive Assistance Package. NATO Allies call on Russia to immediately stop the war and withdraw all its forces from Ukraine, to fully respect international humanitarian law, and to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access and assistance to all persons in need. The EUs 27 member states said they will never recognize the illegal referendums that Russia organized as a pretext for this further violation of Ukraines independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine starting in February 2022, NATO and Allies have provided unprecedented levels of support to Ukraine. NATO also conducts several air policing missions, which are collective peacetime missions that enable NATO to detect, track and identify all violations and infringements of its airspace and to take appropriate action. Summit in summary. The latest from Ukraine as a US-based thinktank says mobilisation may not be over in Russia, as Vladimir Putin has claimed; the MoD says troops are being sent to fight with "minimal or no training". Whether the perception of Russias President Putin as a master strategist matches the reality on the ground. This article is complemented by Article 6, which stipulates: For the purpose of Article 5, an armed attack on one or more of the Parties is deemed to include an armed attack: With the invocation of Article 5, Allies can provide any form of assistance they deem necessary to respond to a situation.