NATO issued a statement on the possibility of admitting Ukraine 0
(Dan Tri) – NATO leaders affirmed that they will grant membership to Ukraine at some point in the future, when certain conditions are met.
Leaders of NATO member countries took a group photo in Lithuania on July 11 (Photo: Reuters).
A joint statement issued at the NATO summit on July 11 in Vilnius, Lithuania said that Ukraine will be invited to join NATO `when member countries agree and the conditions are met`.
`We reaffirm the commitment we made at the 2008 summit in Bucharest that Ukraine would become a member of NATO, and today we recognize that Ukraine’s path toward full integration
According to NATO’s statement, Ukraine `is increasingly able to interact and integrate politically with the US-led alliance`.
`We fully support Ukraine’s right to choose its own security arrangements. Ukraine’s future is in NATO,` the statement stated.
`The alliance will support Ukraine in implementing these reforms on the path towards future membership. We stand ready to extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance when allies agree and the conditions are met
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg further explained the issue regarding Ukraine’s membership at a press conference.
`I think all allies agree that, while the war is going on, it is not the time to make Ukraine a full member of the alliance,` Mr. Stoltenberg added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized NATO for not showing enough `respect` by not being willing to invite Kiev to become a member immediately.
`We value our allies. We value common security. And we always value an open conversation. Ukraine will be represented at the NATO summit in Vilnius. Because it is
Mr. Zelensky said that `it would be ridiculous if Ukraine was not provided with a specific time frame for an invitation to join or NATO membership`.
`There seems to be no willingness to invite Ukraine to join NATO nor to make Ukraine a member of the alliance. This means that there is still room to bargain for Ukraine’s membership in NATO in the
Ukraine has long pursued plans to join the US-led military alliance.
