(Tallinn) The NATO summit to be held in July in Vilnius will be devoted “above all” to concrete support for Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday in Tallinn.
Responding to a question about Ukraine’s possible NATO membership at the summit, Scholz said “it will be in Vilnius first and foremost to organize concrete support for Ukraine in this situation”. .
“The question we have to answer now is: how can we improve cooperation in the concrete situation of the Russian attack on Ukraine? he added during a joint press conference with the prime ministers of the three Baltic countries, and “how can we make it clear that we will maintain this support for as long as necessary”.
PHOTO SERGEI GRITS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
From left: Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins pose for photographers during a meeting in Tallinn, Estonia on May 26.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, for her part, considered that Ukraine’s membership of NATO was essential to guarantee peace.
“For peace in Europe, we need a strong and credible geopolitical European Union as well as a strong and credible NATO. For peace in Europe, we need Ukraine to join the European Union and NATO,” she said.
“We have seen throughout history how gray areas are a breeding ground for wars, while NATO and EU enlargement have increased stability — the three Baltic states are a living example “, she added.
Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said he was convinced “that once the war in Ukraine is over, once Ukraine has won this war, Ukraine should and must become a member of NATO. The reason is very simple: it is the only way to guarantee that Russia will never restart a war”.
On Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged that the members of the alliance were divided on the question of Ukraine’s membership, which will be on the agenda of the Vilnius summit.
“On this question, there are different points of view within the alliance”, admitted Jens Stoltenberg during a speech before the German Marshall Fund in Brussels, recalling that “decision-making in NATO is made by consensus.
“No one is able to tell you exactly what the final decision will be at the Vilnius summit on this issue,” he said again.