Ishika Roy, Pune
The 2023 NATO summit took place in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, on the 11th and 12th of July. The two day conference began on a tense note, but ended with peaceful agreement on the part of Ukraine and Russia. Volodymyr Zelenskiy slammed NATO for leaving Ukraine hanging and letting them join once the security matters align in their favour and the war ends. Russia is banking on this fact and trying to prolong the war so that Ukraine’s joining gets delayed. At the end of the second day, the situation improved with the member countries agreeing upon a vision that ensures Ukraine’s safety and security in the months to come.
In the weeks leading up to the summit, Zelenskiy campaigned aggressively to convince NATO of Ukraine’s membership. Seven countries, namely Japan, Italy, the USA, Britain, Canada, Germany and France issued a declaration of joint support to Ukraine along with security and financial assurances. Ukraine asked for more fighter jets in their arsenal. The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg announced that ten allies have agreed to start training F-16 jets in the next couple of months. He calls it a security umbrella of sorts that guarantees defence and financial aid to member countries and strengthens the connection between Ukraine and the rest of NATO.
Previously opposing Sweden’s bid to join Finland, Turkey finally dropped charges against them during the summit. Their president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan came on board to support the Swedish decision. US President Joe Biden met Zelenskiy and offered unwavering support in what the latter tweeted to be a meaningful and powerful meeting. Even though the summit ended without an explicit timeline as to when Ukraine’s accession to the military alliance would take place, it is clear that their fate rests in the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.