NATO says Russia has no right to block Ukraine from joining alliance

NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg says Ukraine has a chance to become a member of the bloc and Russia has no right to prevent this.

"All allies agree that NATO's door remains open, Ukraine will become a member of the alliance and Russia has no right to object," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on June 6.

NATO's secretary general has repeatedly said that members of the alliance agree that Ukraine will become a member, but stressed that this can only happen after the fighting ends. President Zelensky also said that Ukraine "acknowledges the reality" that it will not be able to join NATO until it ends its conflict with Russia.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 4. Photo: AFP

NATO's secretary general added that "very important" decisions would be made at the alliance's summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next month. The alliance plans to provide a multi-year support package for Ukraine to help it "move closer to NATO standards".

"We must also agree on a commitment to increase defense investment, at a minimum of 2% of GDP," said the NATO Secretary General.

Mr Stoltenberg also said NATO was working hard to secure Sweden's early accession to the alliance. Sweden and Finland have both abandoned decades of neutrality and applied to join NATO. Finland became a member in April.

The Kremlin has repeatedly stated that preventing Ukraine from joining NATO is one of Russia's main goals. Moscow sees NATO's eastward expansion as one of the most serious security threats, forcing Russia to launch an operation in Ukraine.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin reiterated the conditions for ending the conflict in late May, one of which was that Ukraine "must return to neutrality and non-alignment" and "refuse to join NATO and the European Union (EU). Ukraine has rejected these demands.

Location of NATO countries. Graphics: Tien Thanh

Ngoc Anh (According to AFP )

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