CNN: In the draft communiqué of the NATO summit, Ukraineʼs path to joining the Alliance was called “irreversible”

In the draft text of the joint communiqué of the NATO summit, Ukraineʼs path to joining the Alliance was called "irreversible."

Three informed sources told CNN.

The question of how strong guarantees can be given to Ukraine regarding its future membership in NATO was a key issue during the debate among the 32 members of the Alliance before the summit in Washington.

The text of the joint declaration may still change, but the presence of the wording of "irreversibility" should be a serious signal to Kyiv and Moscow, as the war in Ukraine continues with no signs of ending, CNN notes.

One of the sources, a senior American official, said that the White House supports the use of such a word in the final communique, if the document also confirms that Ukraineʼs work on democratic reforms will continue. The official expects that the final version of the communique will contain this wording.

While many European representatives of NATO, in particular the Secretary General of the Alliance Jens Stoltenberg, emphasized the need for strong statements regarding the possible future of Ukraine, such as the formulation of "irreversibility" in the communiqué, the USA and Germany, on the contrary, offer to promise Ukraine a "bridge" to membership.

However, according to another CNN interviewee, a European diplomat, officials are also emphasizing the importance of "tangible measures" to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk said that it is not only about "words of support", but also about Ukraineʼs real rapprochement with NATO.

According to Michael Carpenter, senior adviser on European issues at the US National Security Council, the summit communique will pay great attention to the path to Ukraineʼs membership in NATO.

"The language will be clear and forceful. It will recognize Ukraine’s vital ongoing reform efforts and demonstrate Allied support for Ukraine on its path to NATO membership," he said.

Another high-ranking official from the Administration of US President Joe Biden said that the Alliance will make "new important announcements on increasing military, political and financial support for Ukraine" as part of Kyivʼs "bridge" to NATO.

He said that what the Alliance members "described in terms of the path to membership and the results of Ukraine is quite significant."

"We’re not talking about some sort of plan for how they’re going to get from here to there. We’re talking about standing up an entire command at Wiesbaden, and we’ll look at how we do these various pieces that I mentioned earlier – training, coordination, equipping, coordination, logistics, force development. This is a very serious effort to get Ukraine in a position, as I said earlier, where it will be ready to assume its roles and responsibilities within the alliance on day one," said the senior official.

• The NATO summit begins today, July 9, in Washington, D.C., and runs through July 11. In addition to the members of the Alliance, foreign ministers of 35 non-NATO partner countries were invited to the event. Among the famous participants are the heads of foreign affairs of Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Ukraine will also be at the summit.