Time for NATO 32+1: Finnish President backs Ukraine's membership

Finnish President Alexander Stubb believes the question of Ukraine's accession to NATO has reached the stage where the Alliance needs to discuss it.

As reported by a European Pravda correspondent, Stubb opened the talks with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Ankara with a statement on NATO's need for integration with Ukraine.

"I have a feeling that this NATO format nowadays is 32 plus one. Because I think that NATO needs Ukraine as much as Ukraine needs NATO," Stubb said.

Stubb also cited the fact that Ukraine and NATO are already discussing greater integration of defence industries as evidence of readiness for closer integration.

"The chance that we are able to look at where we can improve each other's security is always very useful," he added.

"Thank you for the new format 32 plus one. And I hope that it will someday have such result of 33. Thirty-three, good. Yes, good age, good number," Zelenskyy joked, adding that Ukraine genuinely aspires to integration.

"For us [it] is very important to understand that not only we need strong friends and strong NATO then also NATO needs us," Zelenskyy said, assuring his Finnish counterpart that Ukraine can strengthen the Alliance, including through drone technology.

Zelenskyy said earlier in a speech at the Defence Industries Forum that from NATO's perspective, it would be wrong to leave a state with Ukraine's level of defence capability outside the Alliance.

It was also reported that in Ankara, Canada's prime minister promised Ukraine $900 million in military aid "in the coming months".