Lithuanian president expects new decisions on Ukraine’s accession to NATO

Lithuania hopes that the NATO summit due in Vilnius in July will make real decisions and find new wording for Ukraine's membership in the alliance, said Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.

He made the remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 17, according to RBC-Ukraine.

"We very much hope that this summit will not only be about our own security but also about Ukraine's security - in the sense that some formulation will also be found regarding Ukraine's expectations to integrate more closely into NATO," Nauseda said.

The Lithuanian leader noted that it was not yet possible to say that full membership of Ukraine in NATO would be discussed at the summit, but he added that "we have to find some new wording and proposals to give hope to our friends in Ukraine".

"Because every time we repeat what we said at the Bucharest summit in 2008 - 'We are keeping the doors open' - it is no longer enough," he said.

Nauseda also noted that during a recent visit to Lviv together with Polish President Andrzej Duda, they received a clear message from Ukraine which was: "Please don't say the door is open, because we cannot find that door. Where is it?"

Furthermore, Nauseda added that he believed Ukraine could gain NATO membership "in a few years' time". At the same time, the allies' commitment to the aspiration to grant Ukraine membership and our country's success in the war against Russia will be important in this issue.

Nauseda said that the issue of Ukraine's membership in NATO should not be removed from the agenda.

Additionally, Lithuania urged not to look for reasons to delay supplying weapons to Ukraine.