Lithuanian President: NATO's refusal to accept Ukraine will be a blow to reputation
If NATO fails to fulfill its membership promise to Ukraine, it will be a serious blow to the Alliance's reputation, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda believes. He expressed this opinion on the air of the radio station Žinių Radijas, quoted by the broadcaster LTR.
"We have very clearly strengthened the text on Ukraine's prospects in the Alliance at at least the last three NATO summits. Now, to just take it all away, well, it would be very damaging to NATO's credibility. It would be a serious blow to NATO's reputation," Nauseda said.
He added that Ukraine should be invited to the June NATO summit in The Hague to present its position on these issues.
The journalists reminded that a number of media outlets, citing diplomatic sources, reported that the United States did not want Ukraine to be represented at this year's summit. And Russia constantly puts forward the condition of peace so that Ukraine does not join the Alliance.
- on July 9-11, 2024, a NATO summit was held in Washington. It adopted a declaration stating that Ukraine's membership in the Alliance is inevitable.
- On February 12, 2025, US Secretary of Defense Hagel said that returning Ukraine to pre-2014 borders and joining NATO are unrealistic goals.
- On February 27, Trump said, that Ukraine "can forget" about membership in the Alliance.
- On May 14, ANSA reported that in the US allegedly do not support the idea of sending Zelenskyy an invitation to the NATO summit in The Hague in June.
