Polish leader openly supports Ukraine's accession to NATO at meeting with Scholz, Macron

Polish President Andrzej Duda has called on NATO member states to include Ukraine in the transatlantic defence alliance as soon as possible.

Duda made the corresponding statement at a meeting of the heads of state and government of Poland, France and Germany, Tagesschau reports.

"Ukraine is waiting for a clear signal, a clear prospect of accession,” he noted.

Duda expressed hope that the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius in mid-July would bring the "light at the end of the tunnel" that Ukraine longs for.

French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were more cautious, preferring to talk about security guarantees.

Scholz assured that they want to continue to coordinate closely with each other on security guarantees for Ukraine.

According to Scholz, Germany and France, as well as American allies, have repeatedly sought dialogue to prepare for such a move.

"We will continue to do this very intensively," the chancellor noted.

It is clear that security guarantees are needed "in a very concrete form", Scholz added.

The French president said the next European Council meeting, as well as the NATO summit in Vilnius, would focus on "what the future of collective security could look like".

Macron and Scholz assured that they wanted to support Ukraine for as long as necessary, and NATO would give Ukraine all the support "to which it is entitled.

Scholz stressed that the German government is now doing all it can to ensure ammunition production in Europe, as well as to maintain and store the weapons that Germany supplies.