Ukraine is actively preparing for the upcoming NATO summit to be held in Washington, where it hopes for a "strong" decision that will support its strategic course to join this influential military alliance.
Ihor Zhovkva, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine for Foreign Policy, stated this in an interview with Reuters.
Zhovkva gave an interview before traveling to Luxembourg for a meeting of the European Union, where negotiations on Ukraine's accession will officially begin, and said that Kyiv wants the NATO summit to end with concrete results.
"I think that this summit deserves a strong decision, including regarding Ukraine. Because, I mean, if you don't have strong decisions regarding Ukraine, the summit will be useless," he said.
He did not specify what, in his opinion, would cause such a decision.
Zelensky, who unsuccessfully lobbied for a political invitation to join the alliance at a summit in Vilnius last summer, said that this year's summit should resolve the issue of inviting Kyiv to join.
Summit in Washington
While NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Washington have said they do not expect the alliance's 32 members to invite Kyiv to the July 9-11 summit, Stoltenberg said he hopes to show Ukraine is moving closer to membership.
The allies are discussing the possible text of the statement at the summit, which could send such a signal, for example, a statement that Ukraine's path to NATO is "irreversible."
"We deserve a firm decision. Any NATO decision is made by consensus. And we know all this and understand that, perhaps, this time a consensus will be formed again on the last day before the summit," Zhovkva said.
Zhovkva said that the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU has become a "huge stimulus" for Ukrainians in the streets and in the trenches, as the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II is raging with no end in sight.
"People are now waiting for positive decisions in terms of European integration," he said. From today, Kyiv will consider the path to EU membership irreversible. "Now it is useless to argue about how long the negotiations will take or anything else. It is very important. The path to full membership, which Ukraine deserves... is irreversible."
It will be recalled that the leaders of 32 NATO countries will gather for a summit in Washington on July 9-11.
