It is a mistake to double down on the Bucharest Summit Declaration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 29, 2022
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Bucharest, the alliance signaled that it will remain open to Ukraine’s aspirations to become a NATO member. Defense Priorities Policy Director Benjamin H. Friedman issued the following statement in response:

“Reupping their misguided vow that Ukraine will someday join the NATO alliance extends a tragic policy blunder and threatens to prolong the war in Ukraine. The policy of holding open a place in NATO for Ukraine achieves the worst of both worlds—it hardens Russian antipathy, encouraging its aggression, without actually helping Ukraine. It encourages Ukrainians to think they have the protection NATO allies enjoy without actually making it one.

“The 2008 Bucharest Summit Declaration was both phony and incendiary. NATO members, whatever the hopes of the Bush administration then in office, had no real plans to let Ukraine and Georgia join the alliance. But the statement was nonetheless dangerous, as the prospect of a military alliance, or forces under its flag, coming to nations on Russia’s borders angered and alarmed the Kremlin. That Russia’s views about these nations had imperial overtones does not change the fact that the prospect of their NATO membership painted a target on them without offering real protection. It is no coincidence that both have since come under Russian attack.

“Reasonable people can disagree about why Russia attacked Ukraine in 2014 and again this year, but the idea that the prospect of NATO membership played no role is unserious. One can fully support Ukraine in its fight against Russia and agree that keeping NATO’s door open to it is a grave error.

“Backtracking on the Bucharest Summit Declaration—stating the fact that NATO has no present plan to expand to Ukraine—would not reward Russian aggression; it would acknowledge reality and undercut one rationale for war. Peace in Ukraine would remain a difficult prospect to be sure, but this step would make it more likely, reduce the dangers between NATO and Russia, and lower U.S. costs and risks over the long-term.”