NATO leaders will meet in Vilnius on July 11-12 to tackle a wide range of topics, from divisions over Ukraine's membership bid and Sweden's accession to boosting ammunitions stockpiles and reviewing the first defence plans in decades.
Still, allies are divided over how swiftly Ukraine should be allowed to join after the fighting ends.
With such a move, the alliance could address demands to go beyond the declaration of the Bucharest summit in 2008, which said Ukraine would become a member eventually, without offering Kyiv an actual invitation or timetable. They will likely include the promise of continued military and financial aid to Kyiv to deter Russia from a renewed attack once the war has ended.
At the same time, allies will show how they aim to implement NATO's goal, agreed at last year's Madrid summit, of putting over 300,000 troopsSweden had hoped to become the 32nd member of the alliance in Vilnius but Turkey continues to block its accession, accusing Stockholm of harbouring members of militant groups on its territory and saying it must crack down on them before being allowed to join NATO.
Stoltenberg had intended to make NATO's previous military spending target of 2% of national GDP a minimum requirement rather than a goal to aim for.
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