NATO’s long-term commitments to Kyiv made at the recent Vilnius summit clearly demonstrate that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will not be able to ‘survive’ Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says on July 14, as reported by CNN.
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The secretary noted that the pledges made by NATO countries “could be the best way to distract Vladimir Putin from the idea that he could somehow survive Ukraine and survive the dozens of countries that support the ‘Ukraine”.
“As long as he (Putin) continues to believe that he will win somehow, he is likely to continue,” Blinken said.
“He must be disillusioned with this notion. These long-term commitments for Ukraine’s security, but also for its economic well-being, as well as humanitarian assistance, are probably the best way to achieve this.
He also noted that the West has yet to see any signs that Moscow might be ready to end the war.
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NATO members gathered for the summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 11-12. Delegations from Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Ukraine and Sweden were also present, in the presence of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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On July 11, NATO countries said in a joint statement that Ukraine would be invited to join the Alliance once all member countries agreed and the required conditions were met.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has indicated that Ukraine no longer needs to adhere to the Membership Action Plan, in effect saying that Kiev will finally be able to join the defensive alliance under a fast-track procedure .
On July 12, Zelenskyy expressed his belief that Ukraine would receive an invitation to join NATO after the war.
Read also: Ukraine will join NATO; Putin already lost – Biden
G7 leaders announced a new set of “security guarantees” for Ukraine, focusing on equipping the Ukrainian military to be able to deter any future Russian aggression.
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