The undefined status of Ukraine in NATO means motivation for Russia to continue its aggression.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated this on his way to Vilnius for the NATO summit when he learned that discussions were taking place without Ukraine’s involvement.
“Now, on the way to Vilnius, we received signals that formulations are being discussed without Ukraine. And I want to emphasize: these formulations are only regarding an invitation, not regarding Ukraine’s membership”, Zelensky said.
He emphasized that it is unprecedented and absurd when there are no timelines for both inviting Ukraine and granting it membership in NATO, and instead, some strange wording about “conditions” is added even for Ukraine’s invitation.
“It seems that there is no readiness either to invite Ukraine to NATO or to make it a member of the Alliance. Therefore, the possibility remains to negotiate Ukraine’s membership in NATO with Russia. And for Russia, this means motivation to continue its aggression. Uncertainty is weakness. And I will openly discuss this at the summit”, the president declared.
It is worth noting that on July 10, NATO allies reached a consensus on removing the Membership Action Plan from Ukraine’s path to joining the Alliance.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, at the opening of the NATO summit in Vilnius, mentioned that tomorrow, at the inaugural summit, a plan for Ukraine’s accession to NATO will be proposed.
Photo: Getty Images
