Last minute: NATO Leaders’ Summit started today in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. After the first day, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made statements in front of the cameras. “We will invite Ukraine to join NATO,” Stoltenberg said.
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg’s statements are as follows;
“WE WILL MAKE UKRAINE CLOSE TO NATO”
“Today, NATO allies agreed on a strong and positive message. We agreed on bringing Ukraine closer to NATO.
“WE WILL SEND A MEMBERSHIP INVITATION TO UKRAINE”
When the conditions are met, we will send Ukraine an invitation to join NATO. Our number one agenda right now is the continuation of Ukraine’s existence. If this fails, we cannot talk about NATO membership.
“WE AGREE ON A PACKAGE”
We work closely with our NATO allies and Ukrainian officials. With the package we will reveal tomorrow, Ukraine will be one step closer to NATO. There is a practical support and roadmap in the package we will offer to Ukraine. Of course, we are sending a strong political message as well. There is also concrete military support. When you look at the whole membership process, no calendar is determined in any of them. It all depends on the circumstances.
“A HISTORIC MESSAGE ON THE FULL MEMBERSHIP OF BOTH SWEDEN AND FINALAND”
The full membership of both Sweden and Finalandia is a historic message. This is also an important development for the Baltic region. With Sweden’s full membership, this will of course be reflected in our military plans. The Baltic Sea will now become much safer.
Ukraine has now gone beyond the action plan. This shows how close it is to NATO. We are already working integrated with Ukraine. “