The outgoing head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, has said that he hopes that Ukraine will be able to join the military alliance within the next ten years.
“I really hope that Ukraine will become an ally”, said Stoltenberg, answering the question about the possible expansion of NATO in the next ten years.
He called on NATO allies to supply Ukraine with more weapons and ammunition to help it defeat the Russian occupier.
“The greater the support, the sooner the war will end”, he emphasized.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg (right) welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to NATO offices, June 27, 2024.
Stoltenberg, whose term ends on October 1, made the comments in an interview with the German news agency DPA that was published on Friday.
NATO leaders will meet next week in Washington to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the alliance, where they are expected to announce new support for Ukraine.
Ukraine has been knocking on the doors of NATO since 2008, when it was promised that one day it will be a member.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, has previously said that Kiev should be invited to join NATO at the Washington summit, after failing to receive an invitation to the 2023 summit in Vilnius despite lobbying.
One of the main things that will stand out during this summit is the wording in the final statement regarding Ukraine’s prospects for NATO membership.
The compilation of this document, which usually consists of several pages, has been taking place for several weeks now at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. But the main disagreements have to do with the exact way of describing Ukraine’s likelihood of joining the alliance.
Ukraine will not be invited to join NATO now, that is very clear.
NATO has been adamant that Ukraine cannot join it while the war is ongoing, because member states do not want to be drawn into a direct confrontation with Russia.
