NATO summit should approve "special" invitation for Ukraine – Lithuanian President

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda sees NATO leaders' readiness to adopt a decision that includes a certain "invitation" to Ukraine.

Source: Nausėda speaking to journalists during the NATO Summit, as reported by a European Pravda correspondent from Vilnius

Details: When asked whether the Alliance's decision would include the word "invitation", Nausėda said he expected a positive response but stressed that this mention would be special.

"I think there will be an invitation (in the Alliance's decision on Ukraine), but an invitation to move forward, not just to open the door to joining NATO right now because then we will have a discussion about activating Article 5," he said.

As is well known, Article 5 of the NATO Common Defence Treaty is activated if Ukraine's accession procedure is completed. Kyiv also agrees that the accession procedure will not be completed as long as the armed confrontation with Russia is going on.

Gitanas Nausėda emphasised that it is essential that Lithuania not repeat the "open door" formula, which is considered outdated and a failure. "But there will be an obvious signal that we are not repeating the formula of the Bucharest Summit," he said, recalling in particular that the Alliance agreed to Ukraine's rapid accession without the Membership Action Plan.

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