The Alliance is close to a consensus on Ukraine's accession

31 NATO nations are discussing the exact wording of Ukraine's potential membership for the final communiqué of the Vilnius Summit.

NATO is approaching consensus on how to address Ukraine's membership at the upcoming summit in Vilnius. This was stated by US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith, Al Arabya News reports.

Currently, 31 NATO countries are discussing the exact wording of Ukraine's potential membership for the final communiqué of the summit. Kyiv, which is backed by NATO allies in Eastern Europe, has called for a commitment at the meeting in Lithuania that it will join the military alliance when the war waged by Russia ends.

According to her, one of the options being considered by NATO member states is to allow Ukraine to skip the Membership Action Plan.

The US ambassador to NATO also said that Washington and Kyiv are in talks to "reassure Ukrainians in the long term and maintain the momentum of assistance that has been going on for the past 15 months." She did not say whether any specific announcements might be made ahead of the Vilnius summit.

"When you put it all together, I think it will give the Ukrainians a sense that we have heard them and understand that they were looking for something specific," Smith explained.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 30/06/2023