Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that he awaits a clear signal at the NATO summit in Vilnius that Ukraine will join the alliance after the war.
Source: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President, during a joint press conference with Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain.
Quote: "At the NATO summit in Vilnius, we need a very clear and obvious signal that Ukraine can and has a right to become an equal NATO member after the war. That is what an invitation is for," Zelenskyy stated.
"It would be very and very important for us," he emphasised.
He also emphasised that Ukraine really needs security guarantees – not as an alternative to membership, but while Ukraine is not a NATO member.
As reported, Ukraine has formulated two specific expectations from the upcoming summit of the North Atlantic Alliance in Vilnius – regarding membership and security guarantees – and will insist on their approval until the last.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy understands that Ukraine would be unable to join NATO while the war was ongoing, but sees no point in attending the NATO summit in Vilnius if Ukraine does not receive specific signals on when it can join the Alliance.
Gitanas Nausėda, the President of Lithuania, expects that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will arrive at the NATO summit in Vilnius with the first lady and will be greatly surprised if it does not happen.
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twistytieofdoom on July 2nd, 2023 at 06:27 UTC »
NATO has a stability requirement. As much as I’d love to see Ukraine join NATO immediately regardless of the war, there’s a VERY good reason for that clause. I think that there’ll need to be anywhere from 5-10 years of recovering before they’ll qualify. And that’s highly dependent on the state of Russia after the war. If they’re still around with Putin in charge, I don’t think Ukraine can be added safely. Russia would attack again to stop it, and we’d be in the same place all over again. But if Russia collapses, it’d be a much smoother induction into NATO, and I’m sure several of the newly formed countries would join upon their creation as well.
Majmann on July 2nd, 2023 at 02:12 UTC »
Tell that to Turkey n Hungary
Darth_Vrandon on July 2nd, 2023 at 01:02 UTC »
I hope that happens. That would mean Russia will have a far harder time aggressing know the future.