Zelensky called the results of the NATO summit “good” — but not “ideal”

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called the results of the NATO summit in Vilnius good, "but if there was an invitation to NATO, they would be ideal."

He stated this during the second day of the summit on July 12 during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

"Ukraine understands that it cannot be a member of NATO while the war is going on. But clear signals that this will happen sounded confident today," Zelensky noted.

Also, according to him, if today the Big Seven agree to the first major declaration on security guarantees, "then this will be a concrete fact, because it says that these guarantees are effective on the way to NATO." Zelensky emphasized that the security guarantees of the G7 countries should be "not instead of membership, but on Ukraineʼs path to the Alliance."

Regarding weapons, Zelensky added that the need for long-range weapons remains.

NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg noted that Ukraine is now closer to NATO than ever before and many countries of the Alliance will undertake security obligations for Ukraine.

Before the start of the summit on July 11, Zelensky was dissatisfied with the lack of specifics regarding Ukraineʼs membership in NATO. He stated that NATO members are not ready either to invite Ukraine to the Alliance or to make it a member, and uncertainty indicates weakness.

• On July 11, at the NATO summit, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg informed that Ukraine will receive an invitation to NATO when all allies agree to it and the conditions are met. Mainly, it is the fight against corruption, reforms to modernize public administration institutions (including the security and defense sector), compatibility with NATO standards, and the end of the war. In addition, the Alliance canceled the MAP for Ukraine.
• Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said that after Vilnius, Ukraineʼs path to NATO became shorter, but not faster. Also, according to him, Ukraine will be satisfied with any model that will not be an alternative to its membership in NATO.