WSJ: West plans to offer Ukraine “Israeli security model” before joining NATO

Western countries plan to offer Ukraine the "Israeli security model" before joining NATO. Decisions can be made already at the summit of the Alliance in July in Vilnius.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) writes about it with reference to its own sources.

Polish President Andrzej Duda confirmed in an interview with the newspaper that the security agreement for Ukraine in the "Israeli model" provides that it will be given priority in the supply of weapons and advanced technologies. Western officials say the security pact would accommodate Ukraineʼs move to join NATO, but would not result in the alliance becoming a party to the conflict with Russia.

"Discussion of this issue is ongoing right now," Duda noted.

In the West, it is believed that it will be several years before Ukraine joins NATO, but several mandatory security agreements will allow immediate assistance to the Ukrainian military. Duda said that he discussed such a model with the US President Joe Biden when he was in Poland in February. Now this idea is gaining momentum and increasing popularity among other allies. It is expected that the agreement can be signed after the NATO summit in Vilnius.

American officials say the discussion of the Israeli model arose as a way to immediately address Ukraineʼs security concerns, recognizing that it will not yet gain NATO membership.

Israel is not a member of NATO and has no security guarantees from the US. But for decades, Israel maintains a special relationship with the United States and is considered Washingtonʼs main partner in the Middle East. Israel is also the largest recipient of the US military aid since World War II.

The West believes that such an agreement with Ukraine will change Russiaʼs calculations regarding this war — it will be aimed at dissuading Putin from prolonging the conflict and trying to undermine Ukraineʼs support from the West.

"Today, Russia must understand that Ukraine received these security guarantees and that they will not disappear either with time or with the weariness of the West," Duda noted.

It is expected that President Volodymyr Zelensky will also take part in the NATO summit in Lithuania. There are plans to create a new body called the Ukraine-NATO Council, which will be a step towards Ukraineʼs accession to the Alliance. According to officials, Ukraine will have the right to convene a meeting of the council and request assistance from individual NATO member states.

States will act as the main guarantor of these agreements. Paris and Berlin also said they generally agreed with the proposed plan. NATO and Ukraine expect the United States, Great Britain, France and Germany to be parties to the security treaty.

• In September 2022, the Office of the President (OP) of Ukraine announced the project of international security guarantees of Ukraine. The document was developed by a group of experts led by the head of the Presidentʼs Office Andriy Yermak and former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. OP emphasizes that these guarantees do not replace Ukraineʼs movement towards membership in the EU and NATO. After becoming a member of the European Union, Ukraine will be able to use the clause on mutual defense of the EU, and after becoming a member of NATO — the clause on collective defense of the Alliance.