NATO Summit: After posting a furious message on the social media platform, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed his agenda for Ukraine to join NATO in a speech in Vilnius. His latest speech came on Tuesday as alliance members gathered for a key summit in the Lithuanian capital.
"In a NATO that does not hesitate, does not waste time and does not look back at any aggressor... And I would like this faith to become confidence – confidence in the decisions that we deserve – all of us deserve, and every warrior, every citizen, every mother, every child expects. And is that too much to expect? NATO will give Ukraine security. Ukraine will make the Alliance stronger. Šlovė Ukrainai, Šlovė Lietuvai! I said this in Vilnius in front of Lithuanians and Ukrainians who gathered for a concert as part of the "Raising the Flag for Ukraine in NATO" campaign," said President Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy furious ahead of NATO Summit
Earlier today, he hit out at the US-led military alliance and called it "absurd" that a timeframe is not being set for the war-torn nation to be invited to join the union. "We value our allies. We value our shared security. And we always appreciate an open conversation. Ukraine will be represented at the NATO summit in Vilnius. Because it is about respect. But Ukraine also deserves respect. Now, on the way to Vilnius, we received signals that certain wording is being discussed without Ukraine," President Zelenskyy wrote in a strongly-worded statement on Twitter.
"It’s unprecedented and absurd when the timeframe is not set neither for the invitation nor for Ukraine's membership," he added.
It is worth mentioning NATO agreed Ukraine "will" become a member during a meeting in 2008. However, the non-governmental alliance did not enunciate how and when this might happen. The war started earlier in February last year on the pretext of Ukraine's willingness to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Later, Zelenskyy clarified that "Kyiv has no intention to join the military alliance very soon".
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy, who was on his way to Vilnius to join the summit, expressed disappointment with how the negotiations were playing out.
