VILNIUS - The invitation for Ukraine to join NATO must be clear and irrevocable, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Monday as Kyiv hopes to be invited to join the military block during the upcoming summit in Vilnius.
"Our position remains unchanged. We fully support Ukraine's aspiration and we are supporting them and their position. (Lithuania's wording would be - BNS) to commit in such a way that the invitation (for Ukraine to join NATO - BNS) is clear and irrevocable," Landsbergis said after a leadership meeting at the Presidential Palace on Monday.
The meeting was held to discuss preparations for next week's NATO summit in Vilnius. It was also attended by President Gitanas Nauseda, Speaker of the Seimas Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas, Chief of Defense Lieutenant General Valdemaras Rupsys, and Zygimantas Pavilionis, chairman of the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Neither of them commented on what was said during the meeting, but Ridas Jasiulionis, spokesman for the president, told BNS it was a working meeting.
An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Reuters news agency last week his country's leader would not attend the NATO summit unless the leaders showed the courage to start the process of Ukraine joining the military alliance.
Kyiv expects a clear invitation for Ukraine to join NATO after the country's war with Russia is over.
The major Western countries, however, would like the NATO summit to focus more on the practical strengthening of cooperation between the Alliance and Ukraine.
The NATO summit will take place in Vilnius on July 11-12.
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