Ukraine continues its work in order to have a result at the NATO summit in Vilnius, which will be held on July 11-12. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyі stated this on July 7 in Bratislava at a joint press conference with Slovak President Zuzana Chaputova.
The video recording was published on Facebook of the OPU.
The day before, on July 6 in Prague, Zelenskyі said at a joint press conference with Czech President Petr Pavel that Ukraine would like to receive an invitation to the Alliance at the NATO summit in Lithuania.
The President of Ukraine was asked at a press conference in Slovakia whether he would be offended by the scenario under which Kyiv would not be invited to the Alliance at the NATO summit.
"We are working on a result in NATO. It is not easy, difficult work... No matter what, we will definitely fight, and it does not depend on this [decision]. But I believe that the Alliance, unity, and in this the strength of the Alliance, can motivate as much as possible and support Ukrainians, especially those who are fighting on the battlefield. And that is why this result is so necessary. But in any case, we are still working. There is no final result that can be in Vilnius," Zelenskyі answered.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced on July 7 that a package of three elements will be agreed upon at the Alliance leaders' summit in Vilnius, the purpose of which is to bring Ukraine closer to NATO.
"I expect that the leaders of the allies will confirm that Ukraine will become a member of NATO. And they will unite on the issue of how to bring Ukraine closer to this goal," said the Secretary General.
According to Stoltenberg, Zelenskyі will join the summit to participate in the first meeting of the new Ukraine-NATO Council.
Zelenskyі arrived in Slovakia on July 7 after visiting Bulgaria and the Czech Republic the day before.
It will be recalled that Ukraine intensified cooperation with NATO in 2014 against the background of Russia's occupation of Crimea and the armed conflict in Donbas. The course for joining the Alliance is fixed in the Constitution of Ukraine.
In 2018, NATO recognized Ukraine as a candidate country for membership in the Alliance, and in 2020, Ukraine was granted the status of a partner with enhanced opportunities.
On June 14, 2021, a NATO summit was held in Brussels, in the final communique of which it was noted that the Alliance supports Ukraine's accession to NATO.
On September 30, 2022, after Vladimir Putin, the president of the aggressor country of the Russian Federation, announced the annexation of the occupied territory of Ukraine, Zelenskyі announced that Ukraine would submit an application to NATO under an accelerated procedure.
On November 30, Stoltenberg stated that the precondition for the start of negotiations on Ukraine's membership in NATO should be its victory, and that Ukraine is being helped by the members of the Alliance.
On June 1, 2023, on the sidelines of the summit of the European Political Community in Moldova, Zelenskyi emphasized the need for the Alliance member countries to define a clear algorithm for Ukraine's movement towards joining NATO. "Specific decisions regarding Ukraine's further progress towards membership and the security of our country for the period before joining the Alliance are what will allow us to consider the Vilnius summit a success," the president said.
Ukraine's future accession to NATO is supported by 22 countries out of 31 that are members of the bloc, the Office of the President of Ukraine reported on July 6.
