NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Thursday stressed that Ukraine is now closer to joining NATO than ever before.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to Kivy earlier today, Stoltenberg said NATO member states have agreed that Ukraine will join NATO, and pointed to three decisions taken at the NATO Vilnius Summit in July to help make this a reality.
"First, we shortened Ukraine's path to NATO from two to one step by removing the requirement for a Membership Action Plan, secondly they agreed on a programme to make Ukraine's forces fully interoperable with NATO, and third the alliance agreed to upgrade political ties to an unprecedented level, by establishing the NATO-Ukraine Council," he noted.
"These three decisions mean that Ukraine is now closer to NATO than ever before," stressed the NATO chief.
Stoltenberg also underlined that NATO countries continue to provide high-end capabilities to help push back the Russian invasion, including modern tanks, sophisticated missile systems, and air defences, as well as training for F-16 pilots. "This is a collective effort by all NATO Allies," he said.
On his part, Zelensky told the same press conference that "today it is already a conversation between de facto allies and it is only a matter of time before Ukraine becomes a de jure member of the Alliance. We are doing everything to make it happen sooner".
Source: Kuwait News Agency