Stoltenberg vows “positive, strong signal” for Ukraine’s membership

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday pledged a “positive and strong signal” over Ukraine’s membership at the Vilnius summit.

“You will see the wording in a few hours, as we are now finalizing the communiqué”, he said. “What I can say is that I am sure that this will be a positive and strong signal on Ukraine’s path to membership,” he added. 

He also said Ukraine had become “much closer” to NATO and “it is time to reflect this in all decisions of the alliance”.

“We must stand by Ukraine as long as the war continues. This is the message of the alliance after the war started. We must remember that the war started in 2014 and there was an invasion in 2022. We have been helping Ukraine since then. I am sure that our participants on the membership issue will confirm that Ukraine will become a member of NATO,” Stoltenberg said.

Stoltenberg noted that the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would arrive in Vilnius today.

The summit will end on Wednesday.