NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has confirmed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accepted his invitation to attend the NATO summit in Vilnius in July.
"I have invited him to attend the meeting and I am glad that he has accepted the invitation and will attend the NATO summit in Vilnius," Stoltenberg told reporters at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday.
Stoltenberg said he highlighted two key issues for Ukraine in the run-up to the Vilnius meeting during his conversation with Zelensky.
"One is that I expect NATO allies at the summit to recommit to support Ukraine as long as it takes with substantial military support to ensure that Ukraine prevails. And I also expect NATO allies to agree on a multiyear programme to help Ukraine transition from the Soviet era equipment standards and doctrines to the NATO standards and doctrines and to ensure full interoperability of the Ukrainian forces and NATO forces," the NATO secretary general said.
Defence ministers and military representatives from the countries providing military assistance to Ukraine are attending a Ramstein-format meeting organised at the invitation of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Also attending the meeting, Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas said in his Facebook post on Friday that it is "a symbolic meeting before Ukraine's imminent and inevitable attack [counterattack]".
Established in April, 2022, the Ukraine Defence Contact Group is an alliance of 54 countries supporting Ukraine by sending military equipment. Its previous meeting took place in March.
Lithuania wants Ukraine to be invited to join NATO at the Vilnius Summit.
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