In a telephone conversation from Kyiv, Nauseda told the BNS news agency that the instability in Russia is a certain relief for Ukraine, however, as “President Zelenskiy also emphasized, we should not miss this favorable moment and we must use it, also thinking about the summit in Vilnius”.
Lithuania hopes that the NATO members will agree on a clear plan for Ukraine’s admission to the alliance at the upcoming summit in Vilnius in July, but at least for now there is no consensus among the member states on political commitments towards Ukraine.
As Nausėda expressed, the discussion on Ukraine’s NATO admission plans is currently the most difficult of all issues, however, “we cannot leave Ukraine in the gray zone, making promises, but not giving a very clear algorithm, how NATO membership will be fulfilled after the war”.
“To repeat Bucharest’s formulation in the current situation would be simply inappropriate,” said Nausėda, referring to the declaration of the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest, which stated that Ukraine would one day become a member of NATO.
The Ukrainian side already confirmed several months ago that Zelensky plans to come to Vilnius for the NATO summit. However, it has recently been reported that Kyiv may be disappointed with the outcome of the Vilnius summit.
Nausėda expressed hope that both Zelensky and Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska would come to Vilnius, adding that the President of Ukraine does not show disappointment. On the contrary, he is still trying to convince the more skeptical Western countries that NATO commitments are acceptable to Kyiv.
“He’s actually very energetic and understands that he’s also a part of the decision-making process,” Nauseada said. “What he said is very important, and we must use this factor,” the Lithuanian president assured.
“I would be very surprised if President Zelenskiy did not come to Vilnius,” admitted Nauseda.
The two leaders also agree that Russia has been weakened by the Wagner mercenary uprising and that dictator Vladimir Putin is no longer in control as much as he would like.
“The regime has lost a lot of its reputation and it will happen again,” Nausea said.
The NATO summit in Vilnius will be held on July 11 and 12.
2023-06-28 15:16:46
#Nausėda #Wagner #rebellion #bring #Ukraine #closer #NATO #Vilnius #summit
