Key Points
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is heading to a NATO summit in Lithuania.
- Ukraine will be the main topic of discussion.
- The country wants to shore up support from NATO states.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is heading to a NATO summit for the second year in a row, where Ukraine is set to be the main topic discussed by over 40 leaders from around the world.
Ukraine is not part of the alliance, but desperately wants to shore up support from it.
Albanese is making a pit stop in Berlin ahead of the summit to meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. to export over 100 heavy weapon carrier vehicles to Germany, Albanese said upon arrival late Sunday night.
He and Scholz are also expected to discuss green energy and climate policy.
Some analysts expect that a deal on green hydrogen experts from Australia to Germany would solve problems for both countries.
Here are some key questions the NATO members will seek to answer at the two-day summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, which starts on Tuesday.
Will Ukraine be admitted to NATO?
Ukraine knows it's very unlikely to be admitted to NATO while still at war with Russia, but NATO is keen to discuss the subject.
“We’re currently working in real time on a whole package of deliverables for our friends in Ukraine,” the United States Ambassador to NATO, Julianne Smith,
The agreements will offer more practical support and be more than what was offered to Ukraine at the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008, she said.
Ukraine lodged a bid to join NATO in 2008 and then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, among others, rejected it because the “political conditions” had not been met.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he “hopes for the best possible outcome” for his country at the upcoming summit and wants a “clear signal” on the intention to bring Ukraine in.
US President Joe Biden said Ukraine is “not ready” to join, but he hopes a pathway can be laid out for its qualification.
There are also "other qualifications that need to be met, including democratisation," he told CNN on Sunday.
"I don't think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war," he added.
Choosing now as the moment to initiate Ukraine would mean "war with Russia" because of the NATO commitment to collective defence, Biden said.
US President Joe Biden arrived in London at the weekend for talks ahead of the NATO summit in Lithuania. Source: Getty / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds
Sweden is also hoping to be admitted .
He said on Sunday he believes the country has still not made “enough progress” on enforcing anti-terrorism policies.
He said the supporters of pro-Kurdish groups, which Türkiye considers terrorist organisations, continue to hold demonstrations in Sweden.
Ukraine is seeking ‘security guarantees’ - what does this mean?
Even if it can’t get into NATO, Ukraine is seeking as much protection from the alliance’s large combined military forces.
Zelenskyy has repeatedly spoken about needing “security guarantees” which essentially mean promises of protection given by outside powers.
This generally means providing weapons, intelligence and aid.
Biden said he's spoken to Zelenskyy at length about the issue, and says he told the Ukrainian president the US would keep providing security and weaponry while Ukraine awaits NATO membership.
Both Poland and Italy have recently stressed NATO’s need to provide more support to Ukraine, while the US, France, Germany and UK are reportedly working on some sort of quad security and economic deal, US website Politico reports.
Who is sending Ukraine weapons?
Australia is one of the largest non-NATO contributors to Ukraine and .
While there had been criticism the military aid was not enough, Education Minister Jason Clare flagged on Sunday more support could be on its way.
"At the moment we are the biggest non-NATO investor or supporter of the effort in Ukraine, except for Sweden, who is about to become part of NATO," he told Sky News on Sunday.
Australia has committed a total of around $790 million to Ukraine, including $610 million in military assistance, according to Albanese.
The biggest contributors are by far the US and UK, while the EU ranks as the third biggest contributor according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy’s Ukraine aid tracker.
Germany and Poland are among the EU’s biggest contributors.
Looking at contributions as a percentage of GDP, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are the biggest contributors.
Will the US give in to pressure on cluster munitions?
Biden has agreed a contract to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, which are controversial and banned in 100 countries because they send clusters of ‘bomblets’ over a wide area, which kill and injure civilians.
Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov welcomed the decision, saying it would help to liberate Ukrainian territory but promised the munitions would not be used in Russia.
Analysts say it’s unlikely Biden will overturn his decision to send over the weapons, despite sustained criticism from US Democrats, as well as other states including Russia, Cambodia, Canada, New Zealand, Spain and the UK.
Why are some of Ukraine’s neighbours backing them so fiercely?
Observers from Vilnius ahead of the summit said the city was covered in Ukrainian flags, an unequivocal message of support for the country.
The Baltic countries of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, once under Moscow's rule but part of both NATO and the European Union since 2004, all spend more than 2 per cent of GDP on defence.
When Russia first invaded Ukraine people in these countries expressed fear that Russia may target them next.
Similarly in Slovakia, Romania, Poland and Moldova, some of the population feared what might happen to them in such close proximity to the conflict.
Security concerns amongst Ukraine's neighbours are likely to be addressed during the NATO summit.
With additional reporting by Reuters.
