The European People's Party (EPP), the largest political faction in the European Parliament, on May 9 adopted a resolution calling on NATO to invite Ukraine to join the alliance after the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius this July.
The summit will pave the way for Ukraine to be invited to join NATO and the subsequent accession process would begin after the end of the war and be completed as soon as possible, the EPP added.
The EPP drew attention to the fact that prior security guarantees made to Ukraine were unable to prevent Russia's full-scale invasion, and remaining in a so-called "grey zone" would prompt Russia to attack again.
Inviting Ukraine to become a member of NATO would be the most powerful signal for Putin and the most ardent imperial hawks in Russia so that they finally understand that Ukraine is no longer within their reach, the EPP said in its resolution statement.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg met with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on April 20 and acknowledged, "Ukraine's rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family, Ukraine's rightful place is in NATO."
Stoltenberg confirmed on April 21 that Zelensky had accepted his invitation to the upcoming NATO summit.
Asami Terajima
(Updated: )
