NATO opens its doors to Ukraine: “Finally it will be part of the Alliance”

All NATO allies agreed that Ukraine he will eventually become a member of the alliancebut the main goal now is to ensure that the country prevails against Russia, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of Ukraine’s defense contact group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, he also told reporters that once the war in Ukraine is over, Kiev must have “the deterrence to prevent further attacks”.

It is the first time since the outbreak of the war, and even in the weeks in which Russia was feared to invade Ukraine, that NATO has opened its doors to Kiev.

invitation to the summit

Stoltenberg confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky has accepted the invitation and will attend at the next NATO summit to be held in July in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.

“I invited him to the meeting and I am delighted that he has accepted and he will attend the NATO summit in Vilnius,” he told reporters in Ramstein, Germany.

Stoltenberg said that during his Thursday meeting with Zelensky in Kiev they discussed preparations for the next NATO summit and that as NATO secretary general he highlighted at least two issues important to Ukraine.

“One is that I hope the NATO allies reiterate at the summit their commitment to support Ukraine for as long as necessary with substantial military assistance to ensure it prevails as a sovereign and independent nation in Europe,” he said.

Furthermore, Stoltenberg hopes the allies will agree on a multi-year program to help that country the transition from Soviet-era equipment, rules and doctrines to NATO rules and doctrines and ensure full interoperability between Ukrainian forces and Alliance forces.

The future in NATO

With regard to future NATO membership, Stoltenberg recalled that he had already reiterated it in Kiev “the future of Ukraine is in the Euro-Atlantic family” that and all partners They have agreed that you become a member of the alliance.

But the main goal now, he said, is “of course to ensure that Ukraine prevails” and that Russian President Vladimir Putin “does not win the war” because “without a sovereign and independent Ukraine there is no point in discussing membership”.

“What we do know is that our support helps Ukraine move towards Euro-Atlantic integration and that our help and support helps them make that possible,” he added.

The Russian reaction

The Russian reaction was angry. NATO’s expansion into Ukraine was one reason Russia flustered during its invasion of the country.

“NATO continues to show its aggressive essence, which we talked about even before the start of the special military operation. Obviously continues with its line of absorption and dragging of Ukraine into the AllianceThis was stated by the spokesman of the Russian presidency, Dmitri Peskov, in his daily press conference.

With Finland’s recent accession to NATO, the Alliance now has 31 members. And now Sweden’s entry is awaited.

Finland’s entry is proof of Moscow’s strategic blunder in attacking Ukraine. If one of the official objectives of the war was to prevent the country from joining NATO by no longer having direct borders with the Atlantic Alliance, the entry of this new state means that Russia and NATO will go from having 1,205 kilometers of direct border to almost 2,600 kilometres.

With information from agencies

ap