Paris: France has decided to support Ukraine in the country’s possible accession to NATO as a means to initiate negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, French newspaper Le Monde reported.
Paris regards the Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration a security guarantee that would presumably hinder the conflict’s aggravation and would prevent a new possible aggression if the hostilities are over, the newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing a security meeting at the Elysee Palace on June 12.
On Monday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that allies were not talking about sending a formal invitation to Ukraine to join the 31-nation bloc ahead of the Vilnius summit, which will take place from July 11-12. A week ago, Stoltenberg reiterated that it was impossible to give a precise date for when Ukraine will become a NATO member, with Kiev’s membership not to be discussed until the military conflict with Russia is over.
Kiev applied for accelerated NATO membership in September 2022 following the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
