Other than the Summit Declaration, the Allied Nations adopted a number of documents, namely:
• A Joint Statement of the NATO-Ukraine Commission
• Declaration on Afghanistan
• Declaration on the Transatlantic bond
Collective defence was reaffirmed as the core mission of the organization.
Ukraine
Faced with the severe crisis taking place in Ukraine, NATO has already taken a lot of measures such as strengthening military and political cooperation with Ukraine, as well as offering reassurance to eastern European Allies. At the summit, the Allies reiterated NATO’s support for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine, committed to promoting the NATO-Ukraine Distinctive Partnership, and also granted Ukraine fifteen million euros as support measures for strengthening the defence and security capacity of the country.
Relations with Russia
Ukraine has ceased all civilian and military cooperation with Russia starting April 2014, and both the EU and US have imposed a series of economic sanctions. NATO leaders condemned the actions of Russia in Ukraine at the NATO summit, even though it was stated that they would remain open to political dialogue with Russia. They even tried to define their approach to an increasingly aggressive Russia, but agreements related to a long-term strategy did not emerge. Even central European countries have had differences in their assessments. While some countries called for economic sanctions and strengthening the organization’s eastern flank, others have criticized such measures to lead to an escalation in tensions.
Afghanistan
According to James Appadurai at NATO, the Allies have sorted out the next steps in supporting Afghanistan at the end of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operation. A training and advisory mission will be set up in the short term. In the medium term, they will be granting 46 billion euros to sustain the Afghan forces, and in the long term, the country would become a political partner of NATO. Afghanistan promptly agreed to the offer, and after a presidential election, Afghan authorities signed a legal agreement allowing a number of US and NATO troops to stay within Afghanistan after the 31st of December 2014.
NATO’s Open-Door policy and NATO partnerships
The Allies once again confirmed the importance of its Open-Door policy, inscribed in Article 10, and the prospect of NATO membership for Montenegro, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. NATO adopted a particular substantial package for Georgia, including enhanced interoperability opportunities, training and defence capacity-building.
As far as partnerships are concerned, the Allies have adopted a Partnership Interoperability Initiative as well as an Interoperability Platform for NATO and partner forces in order for them to work better together. Five partner countries, namely Australia, Finland, Georgia, Jordan and Sweden, will benefit from the Enhanced Opportunities Programme. The Allies have also launched a Defence and Related Security Capacity-Building Initiative, which can assist partners at their request. The Allies had their first meeting with OSCE and EU representatives and ensured better coordination among other international organizations.