Will Ukraine be allowed to join NATO under Security Guarantees? Explained

Mint

18 hours ago

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has suggested an Article 5–style arrangement for Ukraine as part of providing 'Security Guarantees' to Kyiv, which has faced relentless Russian bombardment since February 2022. But does this also amount to a promise of NATO membership for Ukraine as a guarantee of its future security in the face of the Russian war?
Speaking with press after meeting with Zekensky and other European leaders at the White House, NATO secretary general Rutte said the team was discussing 'some Article 5 type arrangement' for Ukraine to protect it from future invasions by Russia. His comments were backed by Finland President Cai-Göran Alexander Stubb who said, 'We spoke of Article 5 type of Security Guarantees.'
Article 5 provides that if a NATO ally is the victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members and will take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked.
It says, 'The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognized by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area.'
If Ukraine receives Article 5–style assurances, any future Russian attack would obligate all NATO allies to come to Kyiv's defense.
But a NATO membership for Ukraine? Maybe not!
Mark Rutte, speaking on NATO membership for Ukraine, said it was not under discussion but on what securities could be provided to the country.
He also revealed that the United States and some other countries are against NATO membership for Ukraine. Also Read | Did Zelensky agree to a ceasefire? What do we know from Trump-Zelensky meeting?
'The situation is this - that the US and some other countries have said that they are against NATO membership for Ukraine. The official NATO position ... is that there is an irreversible path for Ukraine into NATO,' Mark Rutte said.
'But what we are discussing here is not NATO membership, what we are discussing here is Article 5 type of security guarantees for Ukraine and what exactly they will entail will now be more specifically discussed.'
The 'Security Guarantees' would ensure that Russia does not invade Ukraine again.
There was also no talks of sending troops on the ground in Ukraine but a NATO-style protection for Ukraine.
NATO has 32 member countries called the NATO Allies.
NATO was created by 12 countries on April 4, 1949 and over years, 20 more countries have joined the alliance.
The member countries of NATO are: Belgium (1949), Canada (1949), Denmark (1949), France (1949), Iceland (1949), Italy (1949), Luxembourg (1949), Netherlands (1949), Norway (1949), Portugal (1949), United Kingdom (1949), United States (1949), Greece (1952), Türkiye (1952), Germany (1955), Spain (1982), Czechia (1999), Hungary (1999), Poland (1999), Bulgaria (2004), Estonia (2004), Latvia (2004), Lithuania (2004), Romania (2004), Slovakia (2004), Slovenia (2004), Albania (2009), Croatia (2009), Montenegro (2017), North Macedonia (2020), Finland (2023), and Sweden (2024).