President's Office hopes for "open-ended" invitation for Ukraine to join NATO at Vilnius summit
Andrii Yermak, the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, believes that the NATO summit in Vilnius should end with an invitation for Kyiv to join the alliance "as soon as conditions allow".
Source: European Pravda, citing a speech Yermak made on Wednesday during discussions at the Atlantic Council, an American think tank
"We expect that Ukraine will be invited to join NATO with an open date. We, like everyone else in the world, need a strong signal: that no one can change the path to Ukraine's membership of NATO – it has been decided, and it will happen," he said.
Yermak clarified that before directly joining NATO, Ukraine must receive security guarantees that will give it "enough opportunities for defence" until it integrates into the Alliance.
"No argument against Ukraine's membership of NATO goes beyond speculation and fear. During more than a year of war, Ukraine has constantly proved that Russia's threats are more of a bluff than a danger," Yermak said.
He also pointed out that the state of war cannot be an obstacle to inviting Ukraine to join the alliance, since in that case "Russia will do its utmost to drag out the war indefinitely."
As is well known, Ukraine seeks to achieve clear wording regarding its prospects of becoming a member of the North Atlantic alliance at NATO’s July summit in Vilnius.
UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Wednesday that London would be "very supportive" if Ukraine could get through the simplified process of joining NATO.
According to Le Monde, France has changed its cautious stance regarding Ukraine's membership of NATO.
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