(VOVWORLD) - NATO allies are still negotiating how to address Ukraine’s demand for progress on its membership application, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday.
After a meeting with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in Vilnius, Stoltenberg said no final decision has been made, adding that he is certain NATO allies will have unity and a strong message on Ukraine during the NATO summit.
Ukraine's ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, told German TV ZDF on Monday that Ukraine has shown its readiness to join NATO for 500 days and asked NATO to make a clear commitment to Kyiv's membership after the current conflict ends.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that he will back Sweden’s NATO candidacy if the EU resumes long-stalled EU membership talks with Turkey. He said only then will the Turkish Parliament agree to Sweden's accession to NATO. This is the first time Turkey has linked Sweden's entering NATO with Turkey's accession to the EU.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Ukrainian membership in NATO would have very negative consequences for Europe's security architecture and that Moscow would respond firmly to any such step. He told reporters that Ukraine's membership in NATO would be an absolute threat to Russia, which would necessitate a firm reaction.