US President Joe Biden applauds Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a G-7 event on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Wednesday, July 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
“The Ukrainian delegation returns home with a significant victory for the security of Ukraine, our country, our people, our children,” he said, flanked by US President Joe Biden and other leaders of the Group of Seven, the democratic powers.
A joint G7 declaration lays the groundwork for each nation to negotiate agreements to help Ukraine strengthen its armed forces in the long term. Zelenskyy said the move is a bridge to eventual NATO membership and a deterrent to Russia.
“Our support will continue long into the future,” Biden said. “We will help Ukraine build a strong, capable defense.”
NATO leaders created a new forum to deepen ties with Ukraine called the NATO-Ukraine Council. It is intended to be a permanent consultative body between the 31 members and Ukraine, which can call meetings in emergency situations.
NATO is making efforts to bring Ukraine as close as possible to the military alliance without giving it membership. On Tuesday, the leaders said in a statement on the conclusions of the summit that Ukraine will be able to enter “when allies agree and conditions are met.”
“Today we meet as equals,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference with Zelenskyy. “I can’t wait for us to meet as allies.”
The ambiguous plan for Ukraine’s future membership reflects the difficulties of reaching consensus among current members as the war continues, and has been a source of frustration for Zelenskyy, though he welcomed the G7’s armaments promises.
“The results of the summit are good, but if there was an invitation, it would be ideal,” Zelenskyy said through a translator. He added that NATO membership would be “an important motivating factor for Ukrainian society” in resisting Russia.
Despite his disappointment, the Ukrainian president was more conciliatory on Wednesday than the day before, when he said that the lack of deadlines for entry was something “unprecedented and absurd.”
“NATO needs us as much as we need NATO,” he said at the conference with Stoltenberg.
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Associated Press writers Karl Ritter and Liudas Dapkus contributed to this report.
FUENTE: Associated Press
