Macron says path for Ukraine accession to NATO is 'open', as Biden wraps up Vilnius summit

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for sustained international military support for Ukraine as Russia show signs of "weakness and division", as US President Joe Biden concluded a NATO summit denouncing Russia's PresidentPutin as "craven".

G7 members from left, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, France's President Emmanuel Macron, United States President Joe Biden, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stand with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center right, as they address a media conference during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, 12 July, 2023. AP - Pavel Golovkin

As the two-day NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius drew to a close on Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron underlined the path for Ukraine to join NATO is “open,” even though alliance members stopped short of offering a clear timetable or plan for the country's membership earlier in the week.

Responding to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disappointment, Macron said “it’s legitimate” for Zelensky “to expect a lot from us.”

But, he said at the summit, NATO allies “did what we ought to do” while preserving the unity of the alliance.

• Ukraine's NATO accession set to dominate leaders' summit in Vilnius

Macron said “time is on Ukraine’s side” in the war, because divisions exposed by a mutiny by Wagner mercenaries last month “have shown the weakness of Russian power.”

The French president also reiterated a promise to send SCALP long-range missiles to Ukraine and said NATO allies should maintain a long-term commitment.

Even if the war drags on, he said, “We will still be there.”

To defend their nation, Ukrainians fight with a courage that commands respect.

In the name of international law, our values and the defense of Europe, our responsibility is to stand by their side.

And we do so.… pic.twitter.com/sPsxankxW6

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 12, 2023

Biden addresses thousands in Lithuanian capital

Meanwhile – capping the two-day meeting on Russia's doorstep – US President Joe Biden praised the people of formerly Soviet-occupied country while heralding the addition of Finland to the alliance and the prospective admission of neighbour Sweden.

Biden – who has made unifying NATO countries a US foreign policy priority – said Putin had badly underestimated their resolve.

Speaking to thousands gathered at Vilnius University on Wednesday, Biden said "NATO is stronger, more energized and yes, more united than ever in its history. Indeed, more vital to our shared future. It didn't happen by accident. It wasn't inevitable."

The United States' commitment to Ukraine will not waver. pic.twitter.com/3EAm4ofrOA

— President Biden (@POTUS) July 12, 2023

"When Putin, and his craven lust for land and power, unleashed his brutal war on Ukraine, he was betting NATO would break apart ... He thought our unity would shatter at the first testing. He thought democratic leaders would be weak. But he thought wrong."

Biden's speech aimed to rally allies and showcase his role on the world stage ahead of a 2024 re-election campaign focused on healing divisions at home and abroad.

Sweden's entry to NATO comes as Turkey, which once opposed Stockholm's admission to the alliance, is due to get F-16 fighter jets from the United States.

NATO allies have assured that Ukraine would join eventually, when "allies agree and conditions are met," but offered no details on when, if ever, Kyiv would meet such conditions. 

• West offers Ukraine 'security commitments', far short of NATO membership

Biden's post-summit diplomacy

After his speech in Vilnius, Biden met with opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya of Belarus to "underscore the continued commitment of the United States to defend and advance human rights, including freedom of expression, and free and fair elections in Belarus," according to the White House.

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko is one of Putin's biggest allies.

Biden is closing his five-day trip to Europe in Helsinki this Thursday to show NATO’s expanding power and influence against a burgeoning Russia.

Biden's brief stop in Finnish capital is seen as part of a carefully planned presentation to highlight the growth of the military alliance that the president says has fortified itself since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Finland joined as NATO’s newest member earlier this year, an entry that effectively doubled the alliance’s border with Russia.