All NATO Allies agree on Ukraine's membership, but now the goal is victory - Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday, April 20, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

Stoltenberg said he expected the NATO Allies to recommit to stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes and to continue to provide substantial military support enabling Ukraine to prevail as a sovereign independent nation.

"I also expect that NATO Allies, at the Vilnius Summit with the presence of President Zelensky, will agree to further strengthen NATO's package for Ukraine with even more support," he said.

Stoltenberg said he recognized that President Zelensky would raise the issue of membership, of security guarantees, and this would be high on the agenda of the meeting.

"Ukraine's future is in the Euro-Atlantic family. Ukraine's future is in NATO. All Allies agree on that. At the same time, the main focus of the Alliance, of NATO Allies now, is to ensure that Ukraine prevails. It is to ensure that Ukraine continues to be a sovereign, independent democratic nation in Europe. Because that is the only way to also have a meaningful discussion about Ukraine's future membership," Stoltenberg said.

He noted that in this context, the main focus is the military support to Ukraine.

"So NATO has demonstrated that our door is open. NATO's door remains open. And then, what we do, the support we provide to Ukraine is making future membership for Ukraine possible," Stoltenberg said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Ukraine's capital on April 20.