Zelensky announces bilateral talks with US, other countries at Vilnius summit.

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced[1] on July 10 bilateral talks with European countries, the U.S., Canada, and Japan during the upcoming Vilnius summit. A one-on-one meeting between Zelensky and U.S. President Joe Biden was also reported[2] by Politico, citing its unnamed sources.

According to the outlet, Biden will seek to convince Zelensky that simplifying the accession process and a sizeable security commitment is the most that Ukraine can get from the summit. While Kyiv has not officially announced Zelensky's participation, the event's program said[3] on the website that Ukraine's president will be present at a press conference with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on July 12. In his July 10 address, Zelensky himself hinted at his participation: "It is an honor for me to represent such people and such Ukraine."

The president named acquiring air defenses and weapons for the front line as the main Ukraine's priorities at the summit. He also added that all the Allies understand that Ukraine will be a member of NATO, despite ongoing disagreements on the exact wording of their declaration. Kyiv applied for a fast-tracked NATO membership in September 2022.

The country hopes for a strong signal on its entry into the Alliance at the Vilnius summit on July 11-12. According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Kyiv should be able to skip[4] the Membership Action Plan on its path to accession. However, even this procedure[5] would still oblige Ukraine to carry out reforms and would not set any time frame for Ukraine's accession.

The U.S. and Germany are expected to oppose a decisive invitation for Kyiv at the summit, citing the need for reforms and the ongoing Russian aggression.

Retired chief of UK military: As international partners deliberate, Ukrainians pay the price Ukraine has been forced to do battle with less equipment than it needs because of the caution of its international partners, said Mark Carleton-Smith, the U.K.'s former top military commander, during his visit to Kyiv. Carleton-Smith, who was in the country as part of the Warsaw International Forum...

[6] Martin Fornusek

News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent.

He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He also volunteers as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukrainer. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

References

  1. ^ announced (twitter.com)
  2. ^ reported (www.politico.com)
  3. ^ said (kyivindependent.com)
  4. ^ skip (kyivindependent.com)
  5. ^ procedure (kyivindependent.com)
  6. ^ Retired chief of UK military: As international partners deliberate, Ukrainians pay the priceUkraine has been forced to do battle with less equipment than it needs because of the caution of its international partners, said Mark Carleton-Smith, the U.K.'s former top military commander, during his visit to Kyiv.

    Carleton-Smith, who was in the country as part of the Warsaw International Forum... (kyivindependent.com)

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