Nato summit ends on a "big positive" note - Ukraine President
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the meeting with Nato leaders was positive despite his disappointment about the lack of a timetable to receive an invite to join he said in Vilnius on Wednesday.
The United States and global allies unveiled new security assurances for Ukraine at the Nato summit on Wednesday designed to bolster the country's defences against Russia over the long haul while Kyiv strives for membership in the alliance.
Zelenskiy said he believes that Ukraine will be in Nato "as soon as the security situation is stabilized".
Ukraine has been pushing for rapid membership while fighting a Russian invasion unleashed in February 2022 that has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.
Instead, a declaration by the G7 group of the world's most industrialized countries launched a framework for bilateral negotiations to provide military and financial support, intelligence sharing and a promise of immediate steps if Russia should attack again.
The first sitting of a new Nato-Ukraine Council was also held on Wednesday, a new format designed to tighten cooperation between Kyiv and the 31-nation alliance.
Addressing a comment from British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace who said he had told Ukraine that its international allies were "not Amazon" and that Kyiv needed to show gratitude for weapons donations to persuade Western politicians to give more, the president joked with the audience and his own defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov.
Zelenskiy said: "We were always grateful to the UK, prime ministers and the minister of defence because the people are always supporting us."
"You have to call him. Please. Today," he told Reznikov, in jest.
Reuters
