What's happened
NATO leaders reaffirm commitment to Ukraine's future membership in the alliance.
Why it matters
The reaffirmation of Ukraine's future membership in NATO is significant as it demonstrates continued support for Ukraine and sends a message to Russia. However, the lack of a clear timeline and conditions for joining may disappoint Ukraine and raise questions about the alliance's commitment.
What the papers say
The New York Times describes the summit as a significant shift in NATO's position, while Politico highlights the disappointment in Kyiv over the lack of a clear declaration. The Guardian reports on Boris Johnson's criticism of NATO's indecisiveness, and Al Jazeera notes that the alliance remains vague about Ukraine's path to membership.
How we got here
The NATO summit in Lithuania focused on Ukraine's future membership in the alliance. There were discussions about the conditions and timeline for Ukraine to join, but no concrete decisions were made.
More on these topics
-
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which it borders to the east and north-east.
-
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 North American and European countries.
-
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy is a Ukrainian politician, actor and comedian who is the 6th and current president of Ukraine, serving since May 2019.
-
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania and its largest city, with a population of 580,020 as of 2020. The population of Vilnius's functional urban area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 700,275, while according to the Vilnius territori
-
Jens Stoltenberg is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Labour Party, he was Prime Minister of Norway from 2000 to 2001 and from 2005 to 2013.
-
The United States of America, commonly known as the United States or America, is a country mostly located in central North America, between Canada and Mexico.
-
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country located in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. Covering an area of 17,125,200 square kilometres, it is the largest country in the world by area, spanning more than one-eighth of the Earth's in