I will be greatly surprised if Zelenskyy does not attend NATO summit – Lithuanian President

Gitanas Nausėda, the President of Lithuania, expects that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will arrive at the NATO summit in Vilnius with the first lady and will be greatly surprised if it does not happen.

Source: Nausėda during a telephone conversation with the BNS agency while on a visit in the city of Kyiv, as European Pravda reports, referring to LRT

Details: Nausėda stated that he still expects to see President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and first lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska at the summit in Vilnius.

He added that Zelenskyy is not disappointed with the absence of consensus in NATO concerning inviting Ukraine to become a member, but vice versa – he is still trying to persuade more sceptical Western countries to act in favour of the commitments, which are acceptable for Kyiv.

Quote: "He is really full of energy, and he realises that he is also participating in the decision-making process," Nauseda said.

"His opinion is very important, and we must benefit from this factor," he added.

"I would be very surprised if President Zelenskyy did not come to Vilnius. (…) We are very much looking forward to both of them. We do not know for how long the agenda will allow them to stay, but we really hope that we will get to see them both in Vilnius," Nausėda stressed.

Background: Gitanas Nauseda, President of Lithuania, reported that he arrived in Kyiv on 28 June before the NATO summit in Vilnius with the main message: "Ukraine’s place is in NATO".

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, realises that it is impossible for Ukraine to ascend to NATO during the war but sees no sense in participating in the NATO summit in Vilnius if, following its results, Ukraine will not receive specific signals as to when it can join the Alliance.

During his address in the Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council) of Ukraine on 28 June, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called upon NATO to stop looking up to the Kremlin while making the decision about the future membership of Ukraine.

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