NATO members want to use 'security umbrella' to protect Ukraine
(Baonghean.vn) - Lithuanian Foreign Minister affirmed that Kiev is not allowed to fall into the "gray zone" of world politics.
Ukraine must be protected by NATO security guarantees, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on October 3, urging the West to take a tougher stance on helping Kiev win against Russia, RT reported on October 4.
“Ukraine must become a NATO member. NATO’s transatlantic security umbrella must also protect countries left in geopolitical gray zones,” Landsbergis told a security conference in Warsaw, according to the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.
The minister later also asserted that those who support Kiev in the conflict with Russia “must do everything to keep Ukraine within the 1991 borders on this side”.
He praised Germany for agreeing to permanently station 4,000 troops in Lithuania. “Efforts to strengthen our eastern flank depend on our will to defend ourselves,” he said.
“When we say we will help Ukraine as long as necessary, why can’t we clearly state that we are seeking Ukraine’s victory? Ukraine’s victory must be the strategic goal of all of us,” Mr. Landsbergis argued.
According to Article 5 of the NATO Charter, an armed attack on one member is automatically considered an attack on all members.
While NATO countries have repeatedly pledged to continue supplying Kiev with heavy weapons and other military aid, they have yet to provide Ukraine with a clear path to full membership in the US-led alliance. Ukraine formally applied to join NATO more than a year ago but has yet to receive a specific timeframe for its accession.
In July, President Vladimir Zelensky criticized the decision not to offer Ukraine NATO membership as “unprecedented and absurd.” However, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the time that Kiev could not join the alliance “in the middle of a war” with Moscow.
For its part, Russia has stressed that NATO's continued expansion eastward and its military cooperation with Kiev are among the underlying causes of the conflict. Moscow has also warned that military aid to Ukraine makes NATO members de facto parties to the conflict.
