NATO will not issue an invitation for Ukraine to join the alliance at a summit in Vilnius in mid-July, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday.
“At the Vilnius summit and in the preparations for the summit, we are not discussing to issue a formal invitation,” he told reporters after meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Reuters has reported.
According to Stoltenberg, NATO leaders in Vilnius would instead talk about how to move Ukraine closer to joining the alliance.
However, the NATO secretary general warned against accepting a frozen conflict in Ukraine in return for an end to the war.
“We all want this war to end, but a just peace cannot mean freezing the conflict and accepting a deal dictated by Russia,” he said.
The NATO Vilnius Summit will take place on July 11-12.
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