The first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council in Vilnius, Lithuania concluded today, Wednesday. The Ukrainian president says he is satisfied with the much-desired official invitation and timetable for the country’s entry into the Atlantic alliance.
NATO’s 31 member states pledged support to Ukraine and stepped up military aid.
The G7 nations signed a declaration committing themselves to providing “long-term” military support to Kiev, aimed at countering current Russian aggression and deterring Moscow from any future aggression against Ukraine.
“We will work with Ukraine on specific and bilateral long-term security commitments to ensure a durable force capable of protecting Ukraine today and deterring Russian aggression in the future,” the G7 members’ statement said. France, Canada, Germany, Italy and Japan).
“In the event of an armed attack by Russia in the future (…), we intend to provide prompt assistance to Ukraine in the form of defense, modern military equipment on land, sea and air, as well as economic assistance. To impose economic and other costs on RussiaNATO added a document drawn up on the sidelines of the summit.
At a press conference held at the end of the summit, US President Joe Biden highlighted the G7’s “powerful declaration” and pledged that the world’s seven industrialized nations would “protect” Ukraine.
“We’ll stay as long as it takes,” Biden told his Ukrainian opponent.
In return for this support from the G7, the report asserts that Ukraine is committed to implementing reforms that “respect democracy, the rule of law, human rights and media freedoms” and “reinforce its obligations to stabilize its economy.” A stable path” and strengthening “civilian democratic control of the military”.
The G7’s decision was already commented on by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who warned that providing security guarantees to Ukraine “compromises Russia’s security”.
“By providing security guarantees to Ukraine, [o G7] undermining Russia’s security,” Peskov warned.
Zelensky hailed the success of the summit
In turn, the Ukrainian president thanked allies for their support and said the G7 agreement represented “a significant victory” for Ukraine’s security.
“The Ukrainian delegation brings an important victory to the security of our country, our people and our children”Zelensky said.
Volodymyr Zelensky considered the summit a “victory” and “unprecedented support” was shown, although he did not receive a formal invitation or timetable for Ukraine’s entry into NATO, as he requested.
On Tuesday, the Ukrainian president said it was “absurd” to avoid deadlines for coalition members as he traveled to Vilnius, but on Wednesday Zelensky adopted a new stance.
Zelensky says it is “understandable” that Ukraine is not joining NATO now, while noting that an invitation to join the alliance would have been “ideal”.
“We understand that you are afraid to talk about our membership in NATO now, because nobody wants a world war.”Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press conference with the Secretary General of the Atlantic Alliance.
“We are civilized people and we realize that we cannot join NATO when we are in the middle of a war. This is clear,” he added.
However, Ukraine’s president said he hoped to join the alliance after the war. “I believe that Ukraine will be a member of NATO after the war. We will do everything possible to make that happen.”
Ukraine is close, but joins NATO only after the war
At the summit, it became clear to Ukraine that it would join the Atlantic alliance, but only if the conflict with Russia ends.
The idea was clarified by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who said Ukraine would be invited to join the organization “when the Allies decide to do so and when the conditions are met”.
However, Stoltenberg insisted during the two days of the summit that Ukraine is “closer than ever” to the federation.
“Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever before”NATO’s Secretary General said this Wednesday that “Allies reaffirmed Ukraine’s membership of the Alliance and agreed to remove membership requirements”.
“We will launch an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO when the Allies agree that the conditions will be met,” he said, adding that it was “a strong message of unity on Ukraine’s path to becoming a member of the alliance.” .
Zelensky again asks for more weapons
The Ukrainian president again called for long-range weapons during the summit.
This Wednesday, Zelensky held bilateral meetings with the United States, Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan and the Netherlands on the sidelines of the summit’s second day.
Germany accepted the request, but England criticized Zelensky’s request and his “ingratitude”.
British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said the UK and the US were “not the Amazon”. And urged the Ukrainian president to show more “gratitude” for the millions of dollars sent by allies in the armed forces to Kiev.
When asked about these reports, Zelensky, who said he did not understand what Wallace meant, clarified that Ukraine is “always grateful to England.”
On cluster bombs, Zelensky acknowledged that there was disagreement within NATO over their availability to the United States, but pointed out that “there must be justice” because Russia also uses them.
“I know there are people who do not share this support, but I wanted to see this from the perspective of justice. Russia always uses these explosives in our territories, they kill our people with them, they occupy our territory”, he continued. Volodymyr Zelensky.
“There must be justice, it is not fair that the invaders occupying our territory use them,” he added.
The Ukrainian president thanked the United States for sending it and promised that the bombs would only be used “against Russian troops” inside the occupied part of Ukraine.
with agencies
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