According to the expert, the NATO charter does not directly prohibit a country with territorial disputes from joining the Alliance.
One of the goals of former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen’s statement about Ukraine’s accession to the Alliance without territories occupied by Russia is to see the reaction of the organization’s member countries, Russia and Ukrainian society.
This opinion was expressed by Anatoly Amelin, an expert at the Institute of the Future.
He noted that this position is not official , as it was proposed by a former NATO representative.
Can a country with territorial disputes become a NATO member?
According to the expert, the NATO charter does not directly prohibit a country with territorial disputes from joining the Alliance. In the history of the North Atlantic Alliance, there have been cases when countries that had territorial disputes joined the organization. For example, Turkey has been a NATO member since 1952, Finland since 2023, and has a territorial dispute with Russia over Karelia.
“However, Article 10 of the Charter states that every country wishing to become a member of NATO must be able to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic region and must be prepared to accept the obligations of the Charter,” Amelin said.
In his opinion, there are theoretical opportunities for Ukraine.
How long will it take for Ukraine to join NATO?
According to the expert, the procedure for joining NATO may take from several months to several years. The speed of the procedure depends on several factors, including:
Amelin noted that the inclusion of a new country in NATO does not require 100% consent of all members of the alliance. According to Article 10 of the NATO Charter, the decision to join a new state is made by a 2/3 majority vote of all members of the alliance. That is, for a new country to join NATO, the votes of 26 out of 30 members of the Alliance are sufficient.
“And this is where the fun begins. Countries will need to decide whether they are ready for war on the side of Ukraine in the event of a violation of its borders. The weak point of the vote will be Hungary, Romania, Turkey, possibly Germany, Montenegro,” the expert wrote.
Let us recall that former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen proposed considering the possibility of Ukraine joining the Alliance without territories occupied by Russia. By excluding Russian-controlled territory from NATO, the threat of conflict between Russia and NATO will be reduced, he argues.
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