At the July NATO summit in Vilnius, Ukraine will not be officially invited to join the Alliance.
Source. This was stated by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Monday.
"At the summit in Vilnius and in the course of its preparation, the issue of an official invitation will not be discussed, we will only talk about how to bring Ukraine closer to NATO," the Secretary General of the Alliance told reporters.
Stoltenberg emphasized that consultations on Kyiv's application are ongoing, but he cannot speak about their outcome yet.
"I can only say that the allies have already agreed on many things," the NATO Secretary General said, reminding that it is not for russia, but for Ukraine and NATO members to decide when Kyiv should join the Alliance.
During previous meetings with the NATO Secretary General, Volodymyr Zelensky insisted that the Alliance clearly define the timeframe for the accession procedure, arguing, in particular, that "Ukraine is ready to join NATO and is only waiting for NATO to be ready."
Background. Earlier it was reported that US President Joe Biden is ready to simplify Ukraine's accession to NATO.