Duda hopes Ukraine will receive invitation to alliance at next NATO summit

Polish President Andrzej Duda expressed hope on July 10 that Ukraine will be invited to join NATO at the next summit of the alliance.

His statement, as cited by Ukrinform, came on the second day of the NATO summit in Washington before the start of the highest-level North Atlantic Council plenary meeting.

Duda was doubtful that Ukraine would receive a formal invitation to join NATO at this summit.

Nonetheless, he believed that more frequent mentions of the prospect of Ukrainian membership during his speeches will bring this moment closer.

Duda said that the discussion is not about Ukraine's "right" to become a member of NATO, but rather about when Ukraine will join the alliance. The president stressed that Russia's full-scale war must end before Ukraine joins NATO.

He also expressed hope that this year's summit would send a clear signal that Ukraine's path to NATO is "irreversible" and that the alliance will be ready to accept Ukraine as a member.

The next NATO summit will be held in The Hague on June 24-26, 2025.

Kyiv had voiced hope that the summit will bring a more definite signal about Ukraine's future membership in the alliance. American officials made it clear that the country is unlikely to receive an invitation.

Partners assured Kyiv that the event would define a specific position for Ukraine's membership in the alliance, namely its irreversibility and the roadmap toward it, said Olha Stefanishyna, the deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

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NATO allies will announce their plans to provide Ukraine with a minimum baseline funding of 40 billion euros ($43 billion) for the next year at the Washington summit, the White House confirmed on July 10.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova