No plans for formally inviting Ukraine to join NATO, alliance chief says

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday said there are no plans to issue a formal invitation to Ukraine to join the military alliance when allies meet at their next summit in July.

“We are not discussing the issue of a formal invitation. What we are discussing is how to move Ukraine closer to NATO and there are ongoing consultations and I am not in a position to preempt the outcome of those consultations,” Stoltenberg told a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.

“The Vilnius summit in July will set out a vision for Ukraine’s future as an independent democratic member of the Euro-Atlantic family,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pressed for a "clear" decision on Ukraine's path to NATO accession at the next month's summit, otherwise, he sees no point in attending it.

Stoltenberg stressed that allies would again “reiterate their strong support for Ukraine” in its war with Russia.

Meanwhile, the German chancellor made clear again that “NATO would not become party” to the Ukraine war, which broke out last year in February.

“We should be prepared that the Russian war of aggression may take a long time. We are preparing for that and we adapted our policies accordingly. Germany is going to support Ukraine as long as it is necessary,” Scholz said.

Stoltenberg and Scholz’s talks in Berlin focused on preparations for the NATO summit in Vilnius.