President Volodymyr Zelensky pressed his case for Ukraine to be part of the NATO military alliance as he joined European leaders on Thursday in Moldova ahead of an expected counter-offensive against Russia’s invasion.
Addressing leaders at the start of the gathering, Zelensky asked NATO members to take a clear decision on whether to admit Ukraineand also reiterated calls for Western fighter jets to protect Ukrainian skies after another deadly strike on Kyiv.
He spoke as divisions between NATO members spilled out into the open over the speed of Ukraine’s accession, with some fearing that a hasty move could bring the alliance closer to direct confrontation with Russia.
“We told President Zelensky that we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” Moldovan President Maia Sandu said at a news conference closing the summit of the EU’s 27 member states and 20 other European states.
She hosted the meeting at a castle just 20 km (12 miles) from Ukrainian territory and near the Russian-backed, breakaway Transdniestria region of Moldova.
Leaders used the occasion as a symbolic show of support for Ukraine and Moldova while also tackling other issues, including a rise in ethnic tensions in Kosovo and efforts towards lasting peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The summit was a security and organisational challenge for Moldova, an ex-Soviet republic of 2.5 million people that is seeking a path to EU accession while being wary of Russia. Moldova shut its airspace except for official delegation planes.
“This year is for decisions,” Zelensky said, speaking in English. “In summer in Vilnius at the NATO summit, a clear invitation from members of Ukraine is needed, and security guarantees on the way to NATO membership are needed.”
Zelensky also called for a coalition of powers to supply Patriot air defence systems and fighter jets to Ukraine to help fend off Russian forces.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of Poland, a staunch ally of Ukraine, said at the closing news conference his country would help Ukraine train F-16 fighter pilots but that Warsaw had too few Patriot batteries to supply any to Kyiv.
Sandu, a pro-Western leader whose relations with Moscow became severely strained after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, was using the summit to push for talks to make Moldova’s EU entry as fast as possible.
Zelensky echoed her comments and said Ukraine’s NATO hopes rested on “unity throughout the alliance, and we work on it”.
“Our future is in the EU. Ukraine is ready to join NATO,” he said.
Diplomatic sources said a speech from French President Emmanuel Macron in Bratislava on Wednesday in which he called for EU enlargement “as quickly as possible” was a signal that Paris, once hesitant, would back EU membership talks for Ukraine and Moldova to start at the end of the year.
Zelensky also said Ukraine was working towards holding a summit to discuss parameters for ending the war but had not set a date yet, as Kyiv wanted to bring more countries to the table.
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