Kuleba: Ukraine's path toward NATO to become shorter after summit
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Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on July 8 that Ukraine's path toward NATO is expected to become shorter after the Alliance's upcoming summit.
According to Kuleba, "several important decisions for Ukraine and NATO have already been agreed on."
Kuleba made the statement following President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent trips to Bulgaria, Czechia, Slovakia, and Turkey, where Ukraine's bid for membership in NATO was discussed.
"Based on the results of the (upcoming NATO) summit, our path towards the alliance will definitely become shorter," Kuleba wrote on Threads on July 8.
"And this is a significant result, about which — as in many other cases — we were told that it would not happen, but we did it together with our closest partners," he wrote.
However, Kuleba added that there still is "a lack of a solution to make this path even faster — clarity about inviting Ukraine to join (NATO)."
"Now is a unique moment to bring that clarity," he wrote.
"For NATO, losing this opportunity would mean giving (Russian dictator Vladimir) Putin a gift at a time when he needs to be pressed on all fronts."
Ahead of the next NATO summit in Vilnius, Kyiv actively seeks to mobilize additional support for Ukraine's membership bid. Ukraine hopes to receive a "clear signal" from allies regarding its membership prospects at the summit, set to take place on July 11-12.
On July 7, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the member states are expected to adopt a three-part package "to bring Ukraine closer" to the alliance during the summit.
According to Stoltenberg, the package will include a multi-year support program "to ensure full interoperability" between the Ukrainian forces and NATO. Allies will also establish the NATO-Ukraine Council "to upgrade political ties" and reaffirm that Ukraine will become a NATO member.
"(Our) work continues. And it will continue without a break throughout the weekend until the last minute of adopting the declaration of the NATO summit in Vilnius," Kuleba wrote.
