Ukraine wants all NATO member countries to confirm an invitation for Ukraine at the Vilnius summit to join the Alliance, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna told European Pravda.
The NATO summit is set for 11-12 July, and among its key topics will be Ukraine's NATO push and the ongoing Russia-Ukrainian war.
“A political invitation [will be considered a success by Ukraine]. This is possible and necessary right now, in Vilnius. There are no restrictions in the Alliance's rules that prevent this from happening. We want all 31 NATO leaders to confirm that Ukraine is invited to join NATO, and confirm that the newly created NATO-Ukraine Council should determine the way to the membership," she said.
Stefanishyna noted that accession is a process that should be finalized when certain security conditions are met. NATO is to define such conditions, whether it should be the end of the war or something else.
"But it is possible to start this process, that is, to invite Ukraine to [gain] membership, right now," she said.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden told CNN that the Russian invasion of Ukraine must end before NATO can consider Ukraine's membership of the Alliance.
Stefanishyna says that the biggest supporters of Ukraine's invitation to join NATO are allies from Central and Eastern Europe and several key EU countries.
According to her, all countries on NATO's eastern flank already support Ukraine's accession to NATO as their own security depends on it. When asked whether Hungary was among these countries, Stefanishyna said she meant the position of the entire Bucharest Nine, i.e., Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
“We will definitely not hear 'no' in Vilnius. Now the discussion is about the exact wording of 'yes' , namely what king of a positive decision will be there regarding Ukraine," Stefanishyna noted.
Read also:
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- End of “partnership era”: what Ukraine wants from the NATO summit in Vilnius
- NATO’s Vilnius summit will unite Alliance behind Ukraine and bring it closer to NATO – Stoltenberg
