11 minutes agoNine European states support Ukraine's NATO membership
Periskopi(4 years ago)
(4 years ago)Nine Central and Eastern European states have offered their support for Ukraine becoming a member of NATO, and have called on the Alliance to offer more weapons to Kiev in order to be protected by Russian invading forces. The declaration issued on October 2nd was signed by leaders of the Czech Republic, Estonia, [...]
The declaration, issued on 2 October, was signed by leaders of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
The joint statement of these nine states comes after Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky said on September 30th that Ukraine has submitted the application for NATO membership through accelerated procedure.
This claim by Ukraine was made on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Russia was annexing four Ukrainian regions, which are partially occupied by Russian forces.
“We reiterate our support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We do not know and will never recognise Russian efforts to annex Ukrainian territory”, the nine heads of Central and Eastern European states said in a statement.
Putin's statement that Russia has annexed the Donjeck, Luhansk, Herson and Zaporije regions was seen as a major escalation by the Kremlin.
Asked about Ukraine's bid to join NATO, Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told US television that “any decision on membership must be taken by consensus and that all 30 allies must agree to make such a decision”.
