Ukraine will not be formally invited to join the Alliance at the NATO Summit in Vilnius — Stoltenberg

During the NATO Summit in Vilnius in July 2023, the Alliance will not extend an official invitation to Ukraine to join.

CNN quotes NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.

However, the summit will discuss how to bring Ukraine closer to NATO.

The Secretary General added that despite the ongoing consultations on Ukraine's application for NATO membership, he was "not in a position to pre-empt the outcome of these consultations."

"We agree on what we stated in 2008, that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance. We also agree that it is not for Russia, but for Ukraine and NATO allies to decide when the time is right to invite Ukraine," Stoltenberg added.

It will be recalled that Joe Biden recently said that Ukraine's accession requirements would not be simplified.

Photo: Markus Schreiber | AP