A three-element package for Ukraine was approved at the NATO Summit in Vilnius.

According to the Secretary General of the bloc, Jens Stoltenberg, the package includes canceling the Membership Action Plan. However, the members failed to agree on inviting Ukraine to the Alliance.

As Stoltenberg said, the mentioned package should bring Ukraine closer to accession. It consists of a multi-year support program for Ukraine to assist in the transition from Soviet systems and standards to Western ones, creating a NATO-Ukraine Council for crisis discussions and decision-making on equal terms. The first meeting is expected on July 12 with the participation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“We firmly agreed that Ukraine would become a member of NATO and decided to remove the requirement for a Membership Action Plan. So the process would consist of one step, not two,” Stoltenberg said. He added that “We also made it clear that we would invite Ukraine to join NATO when the Allies’ agreements are reached.”