Balkan countries release joint statement supporting Ukrainian NATO accession after summit
Ministers from Ukraine and southeastern European countries supported Ukraine's accession in NATO to join when all allies agree, following the second ministerial meeting in Croatia on July 12.
The joint summit declaration was released by the press service of the Office of the President of Ukraine and the Croatian government on July 12.
"We support Ukraine on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership, and would welcome an invitation to Ukraine to join NATO when Allies agree and conditions are met," the declaration said.
According to the statement, NATO membership remains "the best cost-effective security option for Ukraine."
"Neither Russia nor any other state that is not a NATO member has the right to veto the Alliance’s enlargement," the declaration said.
Apart from Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the signatories of the document included Croatia's Foreign Minister Grlić Radman, Kosovo's Deputy Prime Minister Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, Moldova's Deputy Prime Minister Mihai Popșoi, Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro Ervin Ibrahimović, Albanian Foreign Minister Igli Hasani, Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Timčo Mucunski, Romanian State Secretary Luca Niculescu, and Slovenian State Secretary Marko Štucin.
The declaration also supported Ukraine and other candidates' future membership in the European Union.
"The future membership of Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, and our Western Balkan Partners in the EU is vital for the long-term stability, security, and prosperity of our region and Europe as a whole," the statement said.
The latest summit in Odesa on June 11 was attended by top representatives of 12 southeastern European countries, including the Moscow-friendly Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, for whom it was the first official visit to Ukraine.
On June 11, Vucic declined to sign a joint declaration at the summit in Odesa, which was signed by all the other participants, so as not to "betray Russia."
For Croatia, the signing of a document signifies a clash with the position of the country's Russian-friendly president Zoran Milanovic, re-elected in 2025, who is a staunch critic of Western aid for Ukraine as well as the country's future accession into the military alliance.
Russia had consistently opposed Ukraine's NATO membership, citing the "NATO expansion threat" near its borders as a reason to justify its illegal invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
