The leaders of the nine NATO countries met on October 2 to express their support for Ukraine's membership in the bloc. The meeting of the leaders of the four countries also called on the allies to significantly increase military support for Kiev.
The announcement of nine countries' support for NATO came two days after President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Ukraine's desire to quickly join NATO.
We support the decision of the 2008 NATO Bucharest Summit on Ukraines future membership, said the presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Korea, Montenegro, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
At the Bucharest summit, the alliance members welcomed Ukraine and Georgia's "aspiration to become NATO members" but did not give any time frame for Ukraine and Georgia to join the bloc.
The presidents of the nine countries also affirmed their support for Ukraine in defense, "requiring Russia to withdraw from all occupied territories and encouraging all allies to significantly increase their military aid to Ukraine".
Referring to the four territories of Ukraine that were later annexed to Russia, the presidents of the nine NATO countries affirmed that they would never recognize Russias efforts to annex any territory of Ukraine.
Regarding Ukraine's application to join NATO, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized that "any decision on membership must be made by consensus" of all 30 members. Mr. Stoltenberg affirmed that NATO has an open policy and that the blocs top priority is to support Ukraine both military and financially. The NATO secretary general believes this is also the "Best way to respond" to Russia's moves.
Mr. Stoltenberg's speech reiterated the previous stance of the White House. Last weekend, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the best way to provide Ukraine with real support and the process in Brussels should be carried out at another time.
On October 21, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna revealed that Kiev's application to join NATO "has been sent to Brussels".
The announcement of Ukraine's application to join NATO was announced by President Zelensky on the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty on the annexation of the self-proclaimed Donbass Republic and the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions of Ukraine to Russia.
Moscow has long viewed NATO expansion as a direct threat to national interests. Russia also stated that one of the reasons for sending officials to Ukraine earlier this year was the possibility of Kiev joining NATO.
