Ukraine wants to be invited to start the NATO membership process at the alliance’s July summit in Lithuania, which President Volodymyr Zelensky will not attend unless the leaders show “courage”.
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This was announced to Reuters on Thursday by the deputy head. Office of the President of Ukraine Igor Zhovkva, chief diplomatic adviser to Zelensky.
According to him, Kyiv would like the NATO summit, which will be held July 11-12 in Vilnius, to respond to the application for NATO membership, which was filed by Ukraine on September 30 last year.
This application is now on the table of NATO leaders. The Vilnius summit would be a very good start for responding to the application. And by response, we mean an invitation to membership, which is the first step,” Zhovkva said.
Reuters recalls that Kyiv’s allies disagree on how quickly Ukraine should join NATO, and some Western countries fear any steps that could bring the alliance closer to war with Russia.
In an interview with the agency, Zelensky’s aide said that Kyiv considers it possible to join NATO in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
We ask you to proceed with the procedure,” he said, banging on the table at one point to reinforce his point, the agency writes.
Ukraine believes that its opposition to the Russian invasion demonstrates that the country is worthy of joining NATO and has proven to be a key part of transatlantic security.
Earlier, the Office of the President stated that on the eve of the summit, Zelensky would decide whether to go to Vilnius or not.
His absence would overshadow any show of Western unity at the summit, according to Reuters. However, at the same time, failure to attend the summit could deprive Kyiv of invaluable personal time with the leaders of loyal supporters of Ukraine, the agency notes. After all, the final results of major summits are usually the result of lengthy negotiations.
Source: Racurs
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