Sputnik International By Ilya Tsukanov
The crisis in Ukraine has consumed most of NATO’s attention (and well over $100 billion in taxpayer money) over the past 16 months. As members gather for the bloc’s 36th summit, the issue of Ukraine’s relationship vis-a-vis the alliance is at center stage. Sputnik outlines the issues on the table, and the decisions which may be reached.
First, some basic facts. This year’s summit is taking place in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, and runs over two days: July 11 and 12. The meeting will be attended by some 40 heads of state and over 150 other high-ranking officials from 48 delegations, bringing with them an army of 2,400 diplomatic workers, paper-shuffling, number-crunching bureaucrats, and of course, military officers.
Lithuania will provide the delegations with 800 vehicles and deploy up to 11,000 troops and police officers gathered from across the country, plus as many as 1,000 NATO troops from other countries, including Poland and Spain, to ensure security. Patriot and NASAMS air defense systems and a Combined Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) defense task force have also been deployed…
