BERLIN, Jul 8 Ukraine's admission to NATO during the ongoing conflict is impossible, said Latvian Ambassador to Germany Alda Vanaga.
Next week, on July 11-12, a NATO summit will be held in Vilnius. According to US national security adviser Jake Sullivan, the meeting of the heads of state of the alliance's member states will be an important milestone on the path to Ukraine's membership, as the event will discuss what reforms Kiev needs to carry out to meet the standards of the participating countries.
«This is going to be a historic summit that should send a clear message on how we can better protect NATO's eastern flank and that there is a plan for Ukraine to be admitted to NATO. Admission is not possible right now in a war, but we are also discussing very intensively, what security guarantees can be provided to Ukraine before joining NATO,» the diplomat said in an interview with the German edition of RND.
According to her, the summit participants need to agree in Vilnius whether all countries should provide them together or only individual states. The diplomat also added that Latvia is one of those who are ready to give Ukraine the maximum.
Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that Ukraine would not become a NATO member until the end of the conflict, saying that he 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. Such a procedure is now untimely, Sullivan later remarked. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, commenting on Zelensky's statement, mentioned the bloc's 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, except for an invitation to join the alliance.
Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stated that the Kremlin heard Zelensky's request for Ukraine's entry into NATO, as well as different reactions to it. According to him, Moscow is closely monitoring the situation and remembers 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. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the United States and NATO are directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, «including not only the supply of weapons, but also the training of personnel … in the UK, Germany, Italy and other countries.» Earlier, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General of the Army Valery Gerasimov, said that the United States, Great Britain, Poland and Romania make the largest contribution to the supply of military assistance to Kyiv.