Zelensky “confident” Ukraine will one day join NATO

Washington:

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday he was confident Ukraine would eventually join NATO, after the alliance said the Russian-invaded country had an “irreversible” path to membership.

“We have strong words about the irreversibility of Ukraine’s movement towards NATO. Every step really brings us closer to membership,” Zelensky said at a news conference during a NATO summit alongside alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg.

“We are doing and will continue to do everything to ensure that the day comes when Ukraine is invited and becomes a member of NATO, and I am confident that we will achieve this,” he said.

Zelensky’s reaction was significantly warmer than a year ago at the NATO summit in Lithuania, where he was visibly upset that there was no firmer promise of membership.

NATO, formed during the Cold War, is a collective defense pact in which an attack on an ally is an attack on all.

The United States and Germany have expressed concerns about Ukraine’s rapid integration into NATO, believing it would effectively put them at war with nuclear-armed Russia.

A statement issued Wednesday at NATO’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington said the leaders supported Ukraine on “its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin cited Ukraine’s NATO aspirations as a reason to attack the former Soviet republic, rejecting the idea that the country has a separate historical identity.

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