Mark Rutte confirmed Bolodymyr Zelenski‘s invite to the NATO in Ankara, despite reservations and reactions from the US.
In a move with a strong geopolitical footprint and multiple messages to allies and opponents, NATOopens the door to the invited Summit in Angara to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, amid intense international discussions on the war with Russia and the future of the Western Security Strategy. The confirmation of the invitation by Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte comes at a time of increased tension within NATO, as Washington was reported to have expressed objections to the participation of non-alliance partner countries in the work of the summit. <The focus is now on both the stance that Zelensky will eventually take and the balance between the US, Europe and Turkey, a few weeks before one of the most crucial meetings of leaders in recent years.
NATO has formally invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to its upcoming leaders’ summit in Ankara on July 7 and 8, Alliance chief Mark Rutte said Friday.
The invitation
“I already invited him, yes I did, he will be there,” Rutte said in response to a question from Politico in Helsingborg, Sweden, during a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
The invitation comes despite the fact that the U.S. had resisted efforts to extend invitations to non-NATO partners such as Ukraine, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea.
The NATO summit will likely include the formal leaders’ meeting and a parallel industrial forum involving countries outside the alliance.
Zelensky has not yet accepted the invitation. “Everything is still being shaped. Everyone is in a holding pattern,” a European official with knowledge of the invitation told Politico.
The Alliance is also considering inviting Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to the summit.
