Poland-Rumania-Lithuania Affirm NATO Membership Support For Ukraine
JAKARTA - Members of the 'east wing' of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) affirm their commitment to Ukraine's membership in the alliance, Polish, Romanian and Lithuanian leaders said after a summit of countries called B9 and Nordic on Monday.
Poland, Romania, and Lithuania said on Monday, after a meeting of Eastern Nordic, Baltic and European leaders in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius the region remained committed to a path to Ukraine's NATO membership, calling for further pressure on Russia, including more sanctions.
"We stick to the Allied decisions and commitments on Ukraine's irreversible path towards full integration of the Euro-Atlantics, including NATO membership. Ukraine has the right to choose its own security arrangements and decide its own future, free from outside interference," they said in a joint statement released on behalf of all meeting participants.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also attended yesterday's meeting.
Secretary General Rutte praised Ukraine's efforts, as well as the role of Baltic and Nordic countries in providing continued military and financial assistance.
"Strong and sovereign Ukraine is very important for Euro-Atlantic security," said Secretary General Rutte, quoted from the NATO website.
The meeting, which was held ahead of a NATO summit in The Hague, the Netherlands later this month, involved Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Slovakia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
NATO allies have expressed their support for Ukraine's "irreversible path" towards membership at a summit in Washington, United States last year.
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However, President Donald Trump has since said previous US support for Ukraine's NATO offer was the cause of the war, then indicated Ukraine would not get membership.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's terms of ending the war in Ukraine include demands that Western leaders pledge in writing to stop NATO's eastward expansion, and lift some sanctions against Russia, Reuters reported last week.