BRATISLAVA, Apr 29 Czech Republic and Slovakia pledge to step up support for desire Ukraine will become a member of NATO when conditions allow, the Slovak portal teraz.sk reported on Saturday, citing a document signed by the leaders of the three countries during the visit of the Slovak and Czech presidents to Ukraine.
«The Czech Republic and Slovakia, as NATO members, expressed their readiness to intensify their support for Ukraine's ambitions to become a member of the alliance when conditions permit, the document says,» the Slovak portal teraz.sk writes.
The publication, citing Czech President Petr Pavel, reported that «the clear message of the joint declaration of the leaders of Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Slovakia was support for Ukraine's sovereign right to determine its own future.»
They also agreed that a sovereign, democratic and free Ukraine is one of the key factors in ensuring security and stability in Europe.
It was reported that on Friday, Slovak President Zuzana Chaputova and Czech leader Petr Pavel held talks with Volodymyr Zelensky during a joint visit to Ukraine.
Earlier, the speaker of the Slovak Parliament, Boris Kollar, said that it is irresponsible to give Ukraine vain hopes for joining NATO now, a country in whose territory a military conflict is taking place cannot become a member of the alliance. Kollar noted that this does not mean that he would be against Ukraine's entry into NATO, but, according to him, this should happen in peacetime.
Earlier, ex-Prime Minister of Slovakia, leader of the Smer party Robert Fico said that only those who want an open military conflict between the alliance and Russia can support Ukraine's entry into NATO.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said during a trip to Kyiv that Ukraine will eventually join the alliance.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, meanwhile, reacted with surprise to Stoltenberg's statement that all NATO allies allegedly agree that Ukraine should become a member of the alliance.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that NATO promises to accept Ukraine into its membership in order to motivate it to fulfill the task of the alliance to «defeat» Russia. The Foreign Ministry described the Secretary General's visit to Kyiv as an attempt «to revive discussions about Ukraine's possible entry into NATO.» Moscow has repeatedly stated that it was Kyiv's orientation towards the alliance that became one of the reasons for the start of Russia's special operation in Ukraine.