Zelensky: NATO summit in Washington could be historic

Ukraine should already prepare for the NATO summit in Washington that will take place next year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this at a meeting with the heads of foreign diplomatic institutions, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"As for NATO, we managed to change the philosophy of relations with the Alliance. We are finally discussing when there should be an invitation for Ukraine to join NATO. We have removed the taboo on such conversations. This is important. There is an awareness that Ukraine will be in NATO. And it is only a matter of time," Zelensky said.

He added that a new tool – the NATO-Ukraine Council - is already working as an "integration tool." He recalled that the Council had held its first working meeting in response to Russian aggression against global food stability, that is, it is practical cooperation. Zelensky said that this cooperation should always be like this.

"We should already start preparing for the NATO summit in Washington. The summit could become historic for Ukraine and for all our NATO allies, and it depends absolutely on everyone. It depends on all of you, dear diplomats, who work for Ukraine, on everyone in the Alliance. Security always means joint efforts. And by December of this year, we must lay the foundation for such joint efforts," Zelensky said.

He noted that the task of ambassadors in NATO countries is to work to unite all the capitals of the Alliance around common security priorities, because it is in Ukraine that security for the European continent and international order in general is achieved.

The leaders of the NATO countries at the Vilnius summit on July 11 this year published a final communique, which states that Ukraine's future lies in NATO and that the country will receive an invitation to join when all member states agree and respective conditions are met.

The creation of the NATO-Ukraine Council was also announced at the NATO summit in Vilnius, and the Membership Action Plan requirement was removed.

In addition, G7 leaders approved a Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius.

The next NATO summit will be held in Washington in 2024.

Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine