KYIV

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that Ukraine’s aspiration to join the alliance will be discussed after the NATO summit in Vilnius. Stoltenberg said on Thursday, “After the NATO summit, we will discuss Ukraine’s aspirations for NATO membership. I am quite sure that the Allies will send a very strong message of support to Ukraine.”

All allies agree that the door to NATO is open and that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance, the Secretary-General said. He stressed that only Ukraine and NATO will decide when is the right time for Ukraine to join, Xinhua news agency reported. Stoltenberg said the EU’s decision to grant candidate status to Ukraine has an impact on ongoing discussions within NATO.

It is noteworthy that on June 3, 2022, EU leaders accepted Ukraine as a candidate for membership in the bloc. The Vilnius NATO summit is being held in Lithuania on July 11-12.