Ahead of the much-awaited NATO Summit, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a fiery statement, hit out at the US-led military alliance and called it "absurd" that a timeframe is not being set for the war-torn nation to be invited to join the union. "We value our allies. We value our shared security. And we always appreciate an open conversation. Ukraine will be represented at the NATO summit in Vilnius. Because it is about respect. But Ukraine also deserves respect. Now, on the way to Vilnius, we received signals that certain wording is being discussed without Ukraine," President Zelenskyy wrote in a strongly-worded statement on Twitter.
"It’s unprecedented and absurd when the timeframe is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine's membership," he added.
It is worth mentioning NATO agreed Ukraine "will" become a member during a meeting in 2008. However, the non-governmental alliance did not enunciate how and when this might happen. The war started earlier in February last year on the pretext of Ukraine's willingness to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Later, Zelenskyy clarified that "Kyiv has no intention to join the military alliance very soon".
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy, who was on his way to Vilnius to join the summit, expressed disappointment with how the negotiations were playing out.
Erdogan has no issues with Sweden
Earlier on Monday, when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asserted he has no issues with Sweden joining the alliance, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that NATO’s expansion is “one of the reasons that led to the current situation.” “It looks like the Europeans don’t understand their mistake,” Peskov said. He warned against putting Ukraine on a fast track for NATO membership.
“Potentially it’s very dangerous for European security, it carries very big risks,” Peskov said.
What is NATO and why it is crucial for Sweden to join?
According to NATO, it is an intergovernmental military alliance between 31 member states – 29 European and two North American. Its main purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
According to a joint statement issued when the deal was announced, Erdogan will ask Turkey’s parliament to approve Sweden joining NATO. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, another holdout, is expected to take a similar step. Hungary’s foreign minister said Tuesday that his country’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership was now just a “technical matter.”
