NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraineʼs future membership in the Alliance will be discussed after the July summit in Vilnius. He is sure that the allies "will send a very strong signal of support to Ukraine."
He said this in Brussels before the start of the EU leadersʼ meeting, reports Ukrinform.
According to him, the most important thing now is to preserve the sovereignty of Ukraine, because without it there will be no point in discussing its membership in NATO.
At the same time, the NATO summit is expected to "announce new commitments regarding military support to Ukraine," added Stoltenberg and mentioned the "multi-program" to increase the compatibility of the Armed Forces with the armies of the Alliance.
- A summit of NATO countries will be held in Vilnius on July 11-12. The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said that at this summit, the Alliance should make a political decision: to present a timetable for Ukraineʼs accession or to undertake to do so by the end of the year, so that this would be a signal to Russia. President Volodymyr Zelensky will also come to the summit — he has accepted the invitation.
- On June 15, the European Parliament called on NATO to invite Ukraine to the Alliance. The EU and its member states, together with NATO allies, should work closely with Ukraine to develop a time frame for security guarantees to be put in place immediately after the war. The Parliament emphasizes that Ukraineʼs integration into both NATO and the EU will strengthen regional and global security and strengthen ties between Ukraine and the Euro-Atlantic community.
- According to The Financial Times, the USA, Germany and Hungary are resisting attempts by Poland and the Baltic states to offer Ukraine a plan for NATO membership at the Allianceʼs July summit in Vilnius. Polish President Andrzej Duda calls for Ukraine to join NATO. However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron preferred to talk about security guarantees. France, Germany, Great Britain and the USA can become guarantors.