Ukraine has much more guarantees than it had before Vilnius summit – presidential aide

VILNIUS – Ukraine has much more guarantees from the international community now than it had before this week's NATO summit in Vilnius, Kestutis Budrys, President Gitanas Nauseda's chief national security advisor, said on Thursday.  

"They have much more guarantees now than they had before Vilnius. I'd use that as the measure, rather than (the) Bucharest (summit) which we take as the lowest point with which we try to compare ourselves," Budrys told the Ziniu Radijas radio station. 

"(I'd compare) what was before the Vilnius summit (...) to what Ukraine has after July 12," he said. "And here we could list up to ten positions." 

In the Bucharest summit back in 2008, the Alliance's leaders stated that Ukraine would become a member NATO in the future, but gave no dates. 

Budrys said that the wording of the Bucharest summit was not filled with "will and actions on the ground". 

"In Bucharest, Ukraine and Georgia sought a membership roadmap; they wanted the accession process to be opened. We say in Vilnius now that you won't need a Membership Action Plan. We are removing this requirement and this stage as such. We are shortening the process," the president's advisor said. 

"Today, a lot of things are happening on the ground through practical support, supply of weapons, all kinds of bilateral cooperation, training and so on," he added. 

At the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania achieved all it had set out to do at the start of the year, according to Budrys.

NATO leaders decided on Tuesday that an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance would be extended "when allies agree and conditions are met". 

They also agreed to remove the Membership Action Plan (MAP) requirement for Ukraine, decided to set up a NATO-Ukraine Council, and approved a multiannual program of assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.