BUCHAREST \u2014 NATO returns on Tuesday to the scene of one of its most controversial decisions, intent on repeating its vow that Ukraine \u2014 now suffering through the 10th month of a war against Russia \u2014 will join the world\u2019s biggest military alliance one day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NATO foreign ministers will gather for two days at the Palace of the Parliament in the Romanian capital Bucharest. It was there in April 2008 that U.S. President George W. Bush persuaded his allies to open NATO\u2019s door to Ukraine and Georgia, over vehement Russian objections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNATO welcomes Ukraine\u2019s and Georgia\u2019s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO. We agreed today that these countries will become members of NATO,\u201d the leaders said in a statement. Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was at the summit, described this as \u201ca direct threat\u201d to Russia\u2019s security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
About four months later, Russian forces invaded Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some experts describe the decision in Bucharest as a massive error that left Russia feeling cornered by a seemingly ever-expanding NATO. NATO counters that it doesn\u2019t pressgang countries into joining, and that some requested membership to seek protection from Russia \u2014 as Finland and Sweden are doing now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than 14 years on, NATO will pledge this week to support Ukraine long-term as it defends itself against Russian aerial, missile and ground attacks \u2014 many of which have struck power grids and other civilian infrastructure, depriving millions of people of electricity and heating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNATO will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. We will not back down,\u201d the organization\u2019s top civilian official, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, vowed last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
North Macedonia and Montenegro have joined the U.S.-led organization in recent years. With this, Stoltenberg said, \u201cwe have demonstrated that NATO\u2019s door is open and that it is for NATO allies and aspirant countries to decide on membership. This is also the message to Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This gathering in Bucharest is likely to see NATO make fresh pledges of non-lethal support to Ukraine: fuel, electricity generators, medical supplies, winter equipment and drone jamming devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Individual allies are also likely to announce fresh supplies of military equipment for Ukraine \u2014 chiefly the air defense systems that Kyiv so desperately seeks to protect its skies. NATO as an organization will not offer such supplies, to avoid being dragged into a wider war with nuclear-armed Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the ministers, along with their Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, will also look further afield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOver the longer term we will help Ukraine transition from Soviet-era equipment to modern NATO standards, doctrine and training,\u201d Stoltenberg said. This will not only improve Ukraine\u2019s armed forces and help them to better integrate, it will also meet some of the conditions for membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That said, Ukraine will not join NATO anytime soon. With the Crimean Peninsula annexed, and Russian troops and pro-Moscow separatists holding parts of the south and east, it\u2019s not clear what Ukraine\u2019s borders would even look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the 30 allies believe the focus now must be uniquely on defeating Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But even as economic pressure \u2014 high electricity and gas prices, plus inflation, all exacerbated by the war \u2014 mounts on many allies, Stoltenberg would not press Ukraine to enter into peace talks, and indeed NATO and European diplomats say that Putin does not appear willing to come to the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMost wars end with negotiations,\u201d he said. \u201cBut what happens at the negotiating table depends on what happens on the battlefield. Therefore, the best way to increase the chances for a peaceful solution is to support Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The foreign ministers of Bosnia, Georgia and Moldova \u2014 three partners that NATO says are under increasing Russian pressure \u2014 will also be in Bucharest. Stoltenberg said NATO would \u201ctake further steps to help them protect their independence, and strengthen their ability to defend themselves.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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