2023-07-10 07:34:23
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected at the NATO summit in Vilnius with a clear message for its 31 members: Ukraine deserves to join the Alliance once the war is over. The head of state hopes for a clear roadmap for its accession, believing that it will dissuade Moscow from launching new offensives in the future. However, he comes up against the reluctance of Washington and Berlin, who refuse to give a precise date for Ukraine’s integration into NATO. The summit, which will be held in Vilnius, Lithuania, will begin on Tuesday 11 July. It comes just over a month after the start of the Kiev counter-offensive, with modest gains so far due to a lack of air force and artillery ammunition.
To prepare the ground, Volodymyr Zelensky received Polish President Andrzej Duda on Sunday in Loutsk, in western Ukraine. Both agreed to “work together to achieve the best possible result for Ukraine” at the summit, Volodymyr Zelensky said. Poland is one of kyiv’s main supporters and believes that Ukraine must receive “security guarantees” from other NATO members, failing accelerated membership.
Both Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg have acknowledged that Ukraine’s integration into the Alliance is unlikely before the end of the war. US President Joe Biden fiercely opposes it. “I don’t think Ukraine is ready to be part of NATO,” he swept away in an interview with the American channel CNN, also stressing that there was no unanimity among the allies on the prospect of bringing Kiev “in the middle of a war”. “We would be at war with Russia if that were the case,” he warned. The Democrat, on the other hand, hopes to take advantage of the summit to convince Turkey to accept Sweden’s candidacy for NATO.
Sweden tries to convince Turkey to let it join NATO
Final negotiations before the start of the summit. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Vilnius on Monday to try to convince him to let Sweden join NATO. Ankara has been vetoing Stockholm’s membership since May 2022.
The meeting, which comes on the eve of the Alliance’s annual summit in Lithuania, was organized by the NATO chief. Jens Stoltenberg wants the 31 members of the organization to offer a united front against Russia. He judged Thursday “absolutely possible” to obtain “a positive decision” from Turkey concerning Sweden. President Erdogan for his part promised on Friday to take “the best decision, whatever it is”, implying that all options are on the table. He criticizes the Swedish authorities for their presumed leniency towards the Kurdish militants who have taken refuge on their soil and calls for the extradition of dozens of them.
Joe Biden on whirlwind visit to London ahead of NATO summit
US President Joe Biden is visiting the UK on Monday ahead of the NATO summit, which will be held on Tuesday July 11 in Vilnius, Lithuania. He is due to meet King Charles III, before discussing support for Ukraine with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Ahead of these talks, the White House indicated that Joe Biden wanted to “further strengthen his strong relationship” with the United Kingdom, while for Downing Street, the arrival of the American president “testifies to the solid ties” between the United States. USA and UK.
This visit comes two days after the decision of the United States to deliver cluster munitions to Ukraine, controversial and banned in many NATO countries. Following in the footsteps of the embarrassed reactions of European allies, Rishi Sunak recalled on Saturday that the United Kingdom is a signatory to the 2008 Oslo convention banning the production and use of these weapons. He also “discouraged” their use.
German president calls for ‘not blocking’ delivery of US cluster munitions
The President of the German Republic Frank-Walter Steinmeier called on Sunday not to “block” the United States in its desire to deliver cluster bombs to the Ukrainian army, while defending the official opposition of his country to these weapons. “The German position against cluster munitions is still just as justified. But in the current situation, we cannot block the United States,” he said in an interview with German television ZDF. . “If Ukraine no longer has the means to defend itself, or if those who help defend it no longer do so, then it will be the end of Ukraine”, justified Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose powers are essentially representative and ceremonial.
The United States announced on Friday new military aid in support of Ukraine, including cluster munitions. These, very controversial, can disperse up to several hundred small explosive charges and are accused of causing a lot of collateral victims. The announcement of their delivery drew strong criticism from NGOs and embarrassment from European countries.
South Africa to host Brics summit despite Putin arrest warrant
South Africa will organize the next Brics summit in August, where Vladimir Putin is invited, despite the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the Russian president, confirmed Sunday its president, Cyril Ramaphosa . “We are making progress in organizing the Brics summit and finalizing discussions on the format,” he told reporters. The summit will bring together South Africa, Brazil, China, India and Russia and will take place “physically”.
He did not comment on the presence or not at the summit of Vladimir Putin. The latter has been targeted since March by an ICC warrant for the war crime of “deportation” of Ukrainian children since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Kremlin has rejected these accusations as a whole. As a member of the International Criminal Court, South Africa is theoretically supposed to arrest the Russian president if he enters its territory. A serious diplomatic dilemma for Pretoria, which has refused to condemn Moscow since the start of the war in Ukraine.
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