NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO countries will announce at the summit in Vilnius on July 11 and 12 their support for Ukraine’s entry into the ranks of the alliance in the future, without making a decision on joining it.
“I think it’s clear that NATO allies and heads of state and government when they meet in July will be very clear about their support for Ukraine. This will manifest itself in different ways. As for membership, I expect the allies to say that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance,” Stoltenberg said. Heads of state and government have spoken about this many times.”
Stoltenberg noted that all NATO members agree that Ukraine “has the right to choose its own path.” “It is not Moscow that decides what Ukraine can do. Kyiv should decide on the membership of Ukraine and 31 NATO allies,” he added.
The “NATO” Secretary General also confirmed the idea that “the doors of the alliance are still open (for Ukraine).”
Last Sunday, the Washington Post reported that NATO countries decided not to invite Ukraine to join NATO at their July summit in Vilnius, but are discussing the possibility of increasing cooperation with Kiev and the possible framework and conditions for its entry into the military contingent. union.
The newspaper also cited a statement by Ukraine’s permanent representative to NATO, Natalia Galibarenko, who believes that “the Vilnius summit will not be historic without a decision on Ukraine’s future in the alliance.”
Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine should become the 33rd NATO member state after Finland and Sweden.
He added that Ukraine cannot become a member of the alliance while hostilities continue, but expressed the opinion that there are no obstacles to making a political decision regarding its entry into NATO.
Source: TASS