"Position on irreversibility of membership". Stefanishyna tells what to expect from NATO summit

Ukraine's allies allegedly asked President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to demand from NATO the country's rapid advancement to membership, The Telegraph wrote earlier. Olga Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, said on the telethon what Kyiv actually expects from the Alliance summit in Washington.

"There are assurances from the allies, in particular, the United States and other countries, which directly play a key role in the preparation of the summit, that the decisions of the summit will include a specific position on Ukraine's membership in NATO, on its irreversibility and on the road map of such membership." she said.

According to Stefanishyna, Kyiv separately emphasizes that the Washington NATO summit should become a platform for making decisions on strengthening Ukraine's air defense. The official added that bilateral consultations are taking place on this matter.

"We are just testing the Alliance to see if NATO is able to coordinate these efforts to close Ukrainian skies, either through bilateral solutions or through more complex solutions," she said.

On April 29, 2024, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Kyiv, where he stated that Ukraine's rightful place in the Alliance is, therefore, all appropriate measures are currently underway to accelerate the country's acquisition of membership in the bloc.

On May 9, he said that Kyiv did not ask Western allies to send troops to Ukraine, but Ukraine needs more military aid from allies.