The Lithuanian parliament has adopted a resolution ahead of the NATO summit in Vilnius, which includes an official invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance.
The resolution suggests that Ukraine should be invited to join NATO at the summit and calls for the signing of membership protocols and the launch of the ratification process when conditions permit.
Lithuanian parliamentarians believe that such a step would be a strategic decision for NATO in its pursuit of peace in Ukraine and Europe. “We are against grey security zones, we want to prove the fallacy of the thesis that Russia has the right to veto Ukraine’s membership. We believe that Ukraine will contribute to our security and make NATO stronger,” said the chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, Žygimantas Pavilionis.
The resolution also emphasizes the need to strengthen defense in the Baltic region, increase the number of NATO troops in Lithuania to the level of a brigade, and improve the country’s air defense.
It should be noted that the NATO summit will take place in Vilnius on July 11-12. Lithuania will host 40 delegations from member and partner countries of the alliance for the first time.
As it is known, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been invited to attend the July NATO summit. According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, the upcoming alliance summit in Vilnius is an opportunity to correct the “mistakes of Bucharest in 2008”.
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