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