NATO Secretary General Invites Zelenskyy to Vilnius Summit

Wednesday, 1 March 2023

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has reported that he invited President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to take part in the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July. 

"I have invited President Zelenskyy to take part in the NATO Summit in Vilnius. I am firmly convinced that it will be a strong sign of our solidarity and support that the allies provide Ukraine with, and I hope that Mister Zelenskyy will be able to go there. Indeed, it will depend on the situation in Ukraine that is still in the middle of a war," Stoltenberg said in an interview with LRT.

Petro Beshta, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Lithuania, stated in February 2023 that President Zelenskyy was planning on personally attending the NATO Summit in Vilnius

The ambassador said then that Ukraine was waiting for an invitation. 

Since the start of the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022, Zelenskyy visited the USA, the UK, France and Belgium.

Stoltenberg has expressed his hopes that the allies will agree on new steps and measures of long-term support for Ukraine at the summit. 

On 30 September 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine had signed an application for accelerated accession to NATO.   

The Russian invasion has led to the increase of Euro-Atlantic political views of Ukrainians to the highest numbers yet – 86% of Ukrainians advocate for NATO accession (Ukr).  

Read more Ukraine Demands "Accelerated Accession" to NATO. What Is behind This Decision?

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