Kiev has been calling for the country’s admission to NATO for many years, and even more pressingly after Russia’s invasion in February 2022, as the only guarantee of Ukraine ‘s security vis-à- vis Moscow.
Although positive in principle for Ukraine’s admission, the alliance remains uncertain about the timing of such accession , fearing that such a move would risk escalating the war, given that Moscow considers such enlargement a red line.
“The Vilnius summit (in July) can become historic,” Volodymyr Zelenskiy insisted during a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who made a surprise visit to Kiev today. It will be “important that Ukraine receives the proper invitation.” “It’s about time,” he said.
“Ukraine must win,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
For his part, Jens Stoltenberg again expressed the Alliance’s support for Ukraine’s goals, but did not talk about a timetable at all, pointing out that the priority is the Ukrainian victory in the war.
“Ukraine’s future lies within the Euro-Atlantic family, Ukraine’s future lies within NATO. At the same time, the main goal of the Alliance, of the allies, is to ensure that Ukraine wins,” said Jens Stoltenberg alongside Volodymyr Zelensky.
But he gave assurances that the issue of membership would be discussed at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, which he invited Volodymyr Zelensky to attend.
“I recognize of course that President Zelensky will raise the issue of integration, security guarantees and that will be high on the agenda,” he said.
Russia: One of the goals of the attack on Ukraine is to prevent it from joining NATO
The Kremlin reiterated today through the mouth of Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s representative, that one of the goals of the Russian attack is to prevent any possible entry of Ukraine into the Atlantic Alliance “because this would constitute a serious threat to the country and our security”.
On the issue of Western military aid, Volodymyr Zelensky lobbied the NATO secretary general to increase it.
Because Kiev says it needs more fighter jets, armored tanks, long-range artillery systems to hit Russian supply centers beyond the front line.
After resisting Russian attacks on the eastern front during the winter, Ukrainian forces are preparing a counter-offensive for the spring or summer, and for this reason there must be a full replenishment of ammunition.
Zelensky: Our goal is the complete liberation of Ukrainian lands
Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated that the goal remains the “complete liberation of Ukrainian territories from the Russian occupying forces.”
But between the shortage of stocks, fears of war escalation and logistical problems, Europeans and Americans have taken a more cautious stance than Kiev would like.
So today, the president of Ukraine asked the secretary general of the Alliance “to overcome the reluctance of our partners to send certain types of weapons, namely long-range artillery systems, modern aviation, artillery and tanks.”
By waiting, Ukraine is paying “with the lives of our soldiers, who have not yet received the necessary defense tools,” the Ukrainian president said.
NATO’s secretary-general said tomorrow’s talks with alliance member states at the US Ramstein base in Germany will focus on sending additional weapons, without elaborating further.
The Alliance has focused on sending ammunition for weapons systems already deployed in Ukraine, Stoltenberg said. “I expect NATO allies and partners to make new concrete announcements on military support for Ukraine,” the NATO secretary general said.
Source: iefimerida
