Mr Zelensky said that Ukraine may not have a place in NATO because some countries fear Russia.

"What could be ideal for us - to be invited (to NATO), what form the invitation could take - is the invitation itself. I understand that it may be difficult to get everyone's unanimous support. Someone still looks back at Moscow, someone is afraid of Russia. We are talking about a clear signal, about certain specific goals," Zelensky said at a press conference, the video of which was broadcast by the Rada channel.

He also added that during the talks with President Pavel the two sides discussed strengthening Ukraine's defense, cooperation between the countries at all levels, including the Czech support for the "peace formula".

Earlier, Vladimir Zelensky said that if Ukraine did not receive an invitation to join NATO at the Vilnius summit in July, it would demoralize the Ukrainian army. He said he had spoken to European leaders, US President Joe Biden, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg several times and asked them to "not dig up the ground" under Ukraine.

Stoltenberg said on June 19 that the alliance was not discussing a formal invitation to Ukraine at the Vilnius summit and in preparation for it, but was holding consultations on what decisions would bring Kiev closer to joining the alliance. What is important now is that Ukraine maintains its status as a sovereign state, the NATO secretary general added.

PV