NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Ukraine on Thursday morning for the first time since the start of the Russian invasion. During the visit, Stoltenberg met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whom he invited to attend the next meeting of NATO member countries scheduled in Lithuania in July. Stoltenberg said that the meeting will also discuss the request submitted last September by Ukraine to join the Atlantic Alliance.
Zelensky urged Stoltenberg to speed up the accession procedure, but it could still take a long time, given that joining NATO is a long and complex process and requires the support of all member countries, which could be difficult to achieve in the short term. Currently, most analysts believe that Ukraine’s entry into NATO is not possible in the medium to short term. However, Stoltenberg replied to Zelensky assuring him of his support for the request, saying that «Ukraine’s place is in the Euro-Atlantic family. Ukraine’s place is in NATO. And over time, our support will help make that possible.”
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