NATO summit to discuss Ukraine's membership of the Alliance

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that ahead of the NATO summit in Washington on 9-11 July, the allies are discussing and resolving many issues regarding Ukraine.

Stoltenberg reiterated the plan agreed by NATO to train and assist Ukraine in the security sector and said he expected new announcements on more military support for Ukraine.

"I'm certain that we also have language expressing that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance.... The exact language, [exactly] what we will agree is what Allies are now [discussing] among Allies but I'm confident to have a good solution agreement by the summit," he said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after a meeting in Washington.

Stoltenberg also expressed his firm belief that the stronger the Alliance's support and the more reliable the long-term commitment to Ukraine, the sooner the war will end.

Earlier, Blinken said that the NATO summit in Washington in July should provide a "bridge" to Ukraine's membership in the Alliance.

US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said that there would be important changes in the wording regarding the prospect of Ukraine's membership in NATO at the meeting of the NATO leaders in Washington.

She added that NATO had agreed on the need to give a political signal about Ukraine moving closer to the Alliance and that this signal would be part of the overall package of assistance to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian government said that the NATO summit decision would contain a specific position on the irreversibility of Ukraine's membership.