VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) \u2014 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed fresh pledges of weapons and ammunition to fight Russia\u2019s invasion along with longer-term security commitments from the West on Wednesday even as he expressed disappointment over the lack of a clear path for his country to join NATO as the alliance wrapped up its annual summit.
\u201cThe Ukrainian delegation is bringing home a significant security victory for the Ukraine, for our country, for our people, for our children,\u201d he said while flanked by U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders from the Group of Seven most powerful democratic nations.
A joint declaration issued by the G7 lays the groundwork for each nation to negotiate agreements to help Ukraine bolster its military over the long term. Zelenskyy described the initiative as a bridge toward eventual NATO membership and a deterrent against Russia.
\u201cWe will not waver,\u201d Biden vowed after the summit in Lithuania ended. \u201cI mean that. Our commitment to Ukraine will not weaken. We will stand for freedom today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.\u201d
The Ukrainian and American presidents also met privately along with their advisers, and Biden acknowledged that Zelenskyy is sometimes \u201cfrustrated\u201d by the pace of military assistance.
Zelenskyy thanked Biden, saying that \u201cyou spend this money for our lives,\u201d and said shipments of controversial cluster munitions would help Ukraine\u2019s fight against Russia.
It was a marked shift in tone from Zelenskyy\u2019s complaints a day earlier, when he said it was \u201cunprecedented and absurd\u201d to avoid setting a timeline for Ukraine to join NATO.
Biden said Zelenskyy now understands that whether his country is formally in NATO is \u201cnot relevant as long as he has commitments\u201d such as security guarantees. \u201dSo he\u2019s not concerned about that now.\u201d
On the final day of NATO\u2019s summit, the alliance launched a new forum for deepening ties with Ukraine: the NATO-Ukraine Council. It\u2019s intended to serve as a permanent body where the alliance\u2019s 31 members and Ukraine can hold consultations and call for meetings in emergency situations.
The setting is part of NATO\u2019s effort to bring Ukraine as close as possible to the military alliance without actually joining it. On Tuesday, the leaders said in their communique summarizing the summit\u2019s conclusions that Ukraine can join \u201cwhen allies agree and conditions are met.\u201d
\u201cToday we meet as equals,\u201d NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference with Zelenskyy. \u201cI look forward to the day we meet as allies.\u201d
The ambiguous plan for Ukraine\u2019s future membership reflects the challenges of reaching consensus among the alliance\u2019s current members while the war continues.
\u201cThe results of the summit are good, but if there were an invitation, that would be ideal,\u201d Zelenskyy said, through a translator. He added that joining NATO would be \u201ca serious motivating factor for Ukrainian society\u201d as it resists Russia.
\u201cNATO needs us just as we need NATO,\u201d he said alongside Stoltenberg.
Ukraine\u2019s future membership was the most divisive and emotionally charged issue at this year\u2019s summit. In essence, Western countries are willing to keep sending weapons to help Ukraine do the job that NATO was designed to do \u2014 hold the line against a Russian invasion \u2014 but not allow Ukraine to join its ranks and benefit from its security during the war.
\u201cWe have to stay outside of this war but be able to support Ukraine. We managed that very delicate balancing act for the last 17 months. It\u2019s to the benefit of everyone that we maintain that balancing act,\u201d Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said.
Symbols of support for Ukraine are common around Vilnius, where the country\u2019s blue-and-yellow flags hang from buildings and are pasted inside windows. One sign cursed Russian President Vladimir Putin. Another urged NATO leaders to \u201churry up\u201d their assistance for Ukraine.
However, there was caution inside the summit itself, especially from Biden, who has explicitly said he doesn\u2019t think Ukraine is ready to join NATO. There are concerns that the country\u2019s democracy is unstable and its corruption remains too deeply rooted.
Under Article 5 of the NATO charter, members are obligated to defend each other from attack, which could swiftly draw the U.S. and other nations into direct fighting with Russia.
Defining an end to hostilities is no easy task. Officials have declined to define the goal, which could suggest a negotiated cease-fire or Ukraine reclaiming all occupied territory. Either way, Putin would essentially have veto power over Ukraine\u2019s NATO membership by prolonging the conflict.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace warned Wednesday of bubbling frustration over Zelenskyy\u2019s demands, adding that \u201cpeople want to see gratitude\u201d for Western military support. Wallace also said he\u2019s heard \u201cgrumbles\u201d from some U.S. lawmakers that \u201cwe\u2019re not Amazon.\u201d
\u201cI mean, that\u2019s true,\u201d Wallace said, according to multiple British media outlets. He recalled telling the Ukrainians the same thing when he visited the country last year and was presented with a list of weapon requests. \u201cI\u2019m not Amazon.\u201d
At the same time, the new G7 framework would include long-term commitments to Ukraine\u2019s security.
To repel Russian attack, the major powers promise \u201cswift and sustained security assistance, modern military equipment across land, sea and air domains, and economic assistance.\u201d They also vow to slap more sanctions on Russia.
For now and into the future, they say, they will provide weapons and military equipment, including combat air power, as well as more training for Ukraine\u2019s beleaguered army. Zelenskky has asked that these assurances last at least until Ukraine joins NATO.
Moscow reacted harshly to the G7 plan.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said the summit cemented Ukraine\u2019s \u201crole as the main expendable\u201d in the \u201chybrid war\u201d that it falsely claimed was \u201cunleashed by NATO against Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHaving embarked on an escalation course, they issued a new batch of promises to supply the Kyiv regime with more and more modern and long-range weapons in order to extend the conflict of attrition for as long as possible,\u201d the ministry said in a statement.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that \u201cby providing security guarantees to Ukraine, they\u2019re infringing on Russia\u2019s security.\u201d
Ukraine has been let down by security guarantees in the past. In the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, Russia, the U.S. and U.K agreed that \u201cnone of their weapons will ever be used against Ukraine except in self-defense\u201d in exchange for Kyiv transferring its Soviet-era nuclear weapons to Russia.
But in 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine\u2019s Crimean Peninsula and seized territory in the south and east. In 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion in an attempt to topple Kyiv, leading to the current bloody conflict.
Zelenskyy told reporters that the Budapest Memorandum was no help without NATO membership and its mutual defense agreement.
\u201cIn fact, Ukraine was left with that document and defended itself alone,\u201d he said.
Although international summits are often tightly scripted, this one in Vilnius seesawed between conflict and compromise.
At first leaders appeared to be deadlocked over Sweden\u2019s bid for membership in the alliance. However, Turkey unexpectedly agreed to drop its objections on Monday, the night before the summit formally began.
Associated Press writers Karl Ritter and Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius, Lithuania; Joanna Kozlowska and Jill Lawless in London; and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n