Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
At the summit of NATO leaders in Vilnius, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO will invite Ukraine to join the military alliance, but only when the member states agree and the requirements are met. There will be no invitation at the summit itself.
The leaders' discussions began in Lithuania on Tuesday and will last for two days. "We said clearly that we will invite Ukraine to join NATO when the allies agree and conditions are met," Stoltenberg said in a press conference. "This is the first time we use the word 'invitation'."
He said the allies had agreed to a package to bring Ukraine closer to NATO, including a new multi-year aid programme. The program should help rebuild the security and defense sector and cover resources such as fuel, mine-clearing equipment, and medical supplies. According to what was reported by the Belgian news agency in Brussels
There will also be a new NATO-Ukraine council for crisis consultations, Stoltenberg said, "where we will meet as equals". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is scheduled to take part in the council's first session on Wednesday.
"We also want to make sure that we don't get into a situation where we as countries are at war with Russia."
Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre de Croo said Ukraine's membership "will depend on a number of conditions". He said that any country at war would find it difficult to join NATO, so "it is also important to talk about concrete security guarantees."
De Croo added that the issue is sensitive. He said: "All NATO countries are going through a very difficult balancing act for 17 months." NATO is offering support to Ukraine to defend itself, but "we also want to make sure that we don't get into a situation where we as countries are at war with Russia... I think it's important for us, but also for Ukraine, that we can keep that balance in the right way." .
Stoltenberg said the members also approved "the most comprehensive defense plan since the end of the Cold War." The plans focus on Russia and terrorism, as the coalition aims to deploy 300,000 troops on a higher state of readiness, backed by air and naval capabilities.