It’s time for NATO to invite Ukraine into US-led alliance, says Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said it was ‘time’ for Kyiv to be invited into NATO as his country buoyed by fresh aid from Western allies prepared for a spring offensive to counter the Russian onslaught.

“Now, when the majority of people in NATO countries and the majority of Ukrainians support the entry of our country into the alliance, it is time to take the appropriate decision,” Zelenskyy told the media accompanied by visiting NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.

Stoltenberg paid a surprise visit to Kyiv on Thursday, his first since the Russian invasion, during which he reaffirmed NATO’s commitment to Ukrainian victory. This comes as several countries pledged more aid to the war-torn country. The NATO chief reiterated that the alliance’s priority was to ensure Ukraine “prevails” in the war against Russia and that a membership plan for Kyiv will be discussed at a summit in July.

Zelenskyy’s reminder to the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation comes days after Finland threatened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February became NATO’s 31^st member recently.

“I am grateful for the invitation to visit the summit, but it is also important for Ukraine to receive the corresponding invitation,” he said referring to Ukraine’s long pending aspiration to join NATO.

“There is not a single objective barrier to the political decision to invite Ukraine into the alliance and now, when most people in NATO countries and the majority of Ukrainians support NATO accession, is the time for the corresponding decisions,” Zelenskyy said.

Echoing the sentiments of a section of NATO members, Stoltenberg on his part clarified that Ukraine’s rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family. “Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO. And over time, our support will help to make this possible,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Kyiv.

He pledged further military support for Ukraine, saying that, so far, NATO allies had trained thousands of Ukrainian troops and provided 65 billion euros ($71.31 billion) of military aid alone to the war-ravaged nation. He also assured Zelenskyy that “the issue of membership” will be “high on the agenda” at the NATO summit in Vilnius this summer.

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