MOSCOW, June 1 Vladimir Zelensky said that all European countries that border Russia should join the EU and NATO.
«Recently, a Chinese journalist asked me: why NATO? The answer is simple: when there are no guarantees of security, there are only guarantees of war … We need peace. Therefore, all European countries that border Russia and do not want it to attack them, must become full members of the EU and NATO,» Zelensky said at the European Political Community (EPC) summit in Moldova.
The second summit of the European Political Community began in Moldova on June 1 and gathered participants from 47 states, the event is also attended by the heads of the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament. The first summit in this format was held in Prague in October 2022.
Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that at the NATO summit in Vilnius it is planned to create a new body — the Ukraine-NATO Council. It is expected that it will become a pass for Kyiv to future membership in the alliance. Ukraine will have the right to convene a council and ask for assistance, which will be provided by individual participating countries.
Earlier, Vladimir Zelensky said that Ukraine would not become a member of NATO until the end of the conflict, but would like the support of partners in the form of an invitation to the alliance today. At the end of September 2022, Zelensky announced that Ukraine was applying to join NATO on an accelerated basis. Carrying out such a procedure is now untimely, later the assistant to the President of the United States for national security Jake Sullivan noted. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, commenting on Zelensky's statement, acknowledged the bloc's unchanged position on the right of each country to determine its own path and on the «open door» policy, but stressed that the alliance would concentrate its efforts on helping Kiev defend itself. According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine will not be satisfied with any other decision of the NATO summit in Vilnius scheduled for July 11-12, except for an invitation to join the alliance.