Zhovkva about NATO Summit in Washington: We're working to see as strong decision on Ukraine as possible
Ukraine is working to ensure that a decision of the NATO Summit in Washington regarding the prospects for its entry into the Alliance is as strong as possible, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Ihor Zhovkva said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency.
"Ukraine wants the decision of the Washington summit to be strong. Ukraine deserves a strong decision. Ukraine is doing everything necessary to become a member of NATO. It is doing this on the battlefield – and we fight with weapons supplied by NATO member states. We are also going through interoperability with the armed forces of NATO countries," he said.
According to the official, during a recent visit to Germany for the Ukraine Recovery Conference, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited a military base 200 kilometers from Berlin, where Ukrainian specialists receive training to operate Patriot air defense systems.
"Our specialists stood next to German instructors, the same military men – and ours are no worse, and sometimes, as some army men say, better at mastering these types of weapons. Now the Ukrainians have definitely proven to the whole world that Russian ballistics can be shot down by the Patriot system. If this was previously a theoretical assumption, now it is a practical reality. And now the Patriot manufacturers know for sure that their systems are among the best in the world," he said.
"Therefore, we are working to ensure that the decision [of the NATO Summit] is as strong as possible. We know what its language is currently being discussed. Ukraine has its finger on the pulse," Zhovkva said.
As reported, the 75th anniversary NATO Summit will take place in Washington on July 9-11. The Alliance is expected to announce a package of military assistance to Kyiv, and will also take over the coordination of military assistance to Ukraine, which its allies are currently providing to it in the format of the Ramstein meetings.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that he expected NATO member states to soon agree on the wording of the Summit communique, which would send a clear signal about the prospects for Ukraine's future membership in the Alliance.
