The NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) has unanimously recognized Russia's crimes against Ukraine as genocide, Yehor Cherniev, the head of Ukraine's delegation at the assembly, said on May 22.
Furthermore, NATO PA will urge the NATO governments to give a clear declaration in support of Ukraine’s membership during the upcoming Vilnius Summit and to agree on clear steps on how to achieve it, Cherniev added.
“At the Luxembourg Assembly session, we managed to adopt an extremely strong declaration that will have far-reaching political consequences,” Cherniev said.
“This is our diplomatic victory. All of our key wishes regarding the final text of the declaration have been taken into account.”
The declaration includes support for an international tribunal for Russian war crimes, a pledge to help Ukraine achieve victory, a commitment to restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity, the implementation of further sanctions, and a "Marshall Plan" to help restore the country's economy.
Carl Bildt
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is a consultative body that serves as a link between the Alliance and the parliaments of the individual members.
As of yet, parliaments of seven countries apart from Ukraine have declared Russian war crimes in Ukraine as genocide, including Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Canada, Poland, Czechia, and Ireland.
The Summit in Vilnius will take place on July 11-12 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine is expected to be a crucial topic of the event.
According to the Washington Post, there is so far no consensus on Ukraine’s NATO membership, however.
While the Baltic nations and Czechia wish to present Kyiv with concrete steps, big players like France, Germany, and the U.S. are hesitant.
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