President’s Office on Zelenskyy's attendance at NATO summit: Everything depends on the situation on the battlefield
The decision on whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the NATO summit in Vilnius has not yet been made; everything will depend on the situation on the battlefield.
Source: presidential spokesman Serhii Nykyforov in a comment for Suspilne
Quote from Nykyforov: "We don’t usually comment in advance; we don’t make an announcement for security reasons. In general, everything will depend on the situation on the battlefield."
Details: Nykyforov noted that the decision has not yet been made.
He advised journalists to "pay attention to the president's statements; he has already clearly described the circumstances" [under which he will go to the summit – ed.].
The NATO summit will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, next week, on 11-12 July.
Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President and Diplomatic Advisor to the Head of State, has previously made it clear that Zelenskyy will attend the North Atlantic Alliance’s summit in Vilnius only if Ukraine receives a clear prospect of NATO membership there.
Background:
- On 30 September 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal signed an application for Ukraine's accelerated accession to NATO without a MAP.
- While the Ukrainian side waits for approval from all members of the Alliance, it proposes to implement proposals regarding security guarantees for Ukraine in accordance with the Kyiv Security Compact.
- According to the media, the UK, France, Germany and the US are apparently ready to provide security guarantees for Ukraine in the form of constant support.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has stated that Ukraine's accession to NATO depends on the consent of all 30 allies.
- The presidents of nine Central and Eastern European countries have officially supported Ukraine's membership of NATO. Among them are the leaders of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Canada has also announced its support for Ukraine's accession to the Alliance. The US believes that now is "a bad time" for Ukraine to join NATO.
- Russia insists that the Euro-Atlantic course of the Ukrainian government was the cause of Russian aggression against Ukraine, even though it is the attack by the Russian Federation that is pushing Ukraine to move towards NATO more quickly.
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