NATO concluded a major summit that left Ukraine dissatisifed and Sweden poised to join the military alliance.
During the two-day summit, NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg chaired an inaugural meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council on Wednesday joined by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
NATO and Ukraine will meet in the Council “to discuss and decide as equals" while allies beef up aid for Kyiv's defenses against Russia with a new multi-year aid package, Stoltenberg said, adding Ukraine's membership process will be sped up.
“We will issue an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO when allies agree that conditions are met," he said. "NATO is more united than ever."
But the lack of a definitive timeline vexed Zelenskyy, who called the statement “unprecedented and absurd" and argued that NATO leaders were not serious about inviting Ukraine to join the alliance. “Uncertainty is weakness,” he said.
After Zelenskyy's comments, NATO leaders tried to reassure him. "Ukraine's future lies at NATO," U.S. President Joe Biden said, emphasizing at the end of the summit that nations are committed over the long-term to helping Ukraine defeat Russia's full-scale invasion since early last year.
Sweden's prospects of joining accelerated. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed to support Sweden's NATO accession protocol by sending it to the Turkish Parliament for approval.
Erdoğan agreed to forward the request to Turkish lawmakers "as soon as possible, and work closely with the assembly to ensure ratification," Stoltenberg said. Erdoğan's opposition had been the main stumbling block preventing Sweden from joining NATO as its 32nd member.
The announcement came on the eve of the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania and less than a week after NATO agreed to extend Stoltenberg’s contract by another year – his fourth contract extension.
The 31-nation alliance chose to stick with a popular chief rather than try to find a suitable replacement during a challenging time for the military alliance due to Ukraine's war to repel Russia's invasion.
Stoltenberg noted that Sweden and Turkey have worked closely together since NATO’s 2022 Summit in Madrid to address Turkey's "legitimate security concerns" in the wake of its outcry over a Swedish protester being allowed to burn a copy of the Koran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm earlier this year.
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Sweden had criticized the Koran burning by a right-wing extremist in Stockholm, but defended the decision to let it happen.
Since then, Stoltenberg noted, Sweden has amended its constitution, changed its laws, expanded its counterterrorism cooperation against pro-Kurdish groups, and resumed arms exports to Turkey.
“Sweden’s cooperation with Turkey in the fight against terrorism will continue beyond accession,” he said. “NATO will also significantly step up its work in this area, and I will establish, for the first time at NATO, the post of special coordinator for counterterrorism."
Biden welcomed the news of Erdoğan's "commitment" to send the accession protocol to Turkey's Parliament "for swift ratification"
"I stand ready to work with President Erdoğan and Turkey on enhancing defense and deterrence in the Euro-Atlantic area," Biden said.
"I look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Kristersson and Sweden as our 32nd NATO ally," he added. "And I thank Secretary General Stoltenberg for his steadfast leadership."
This story has been updated with additional details.
