NATO chief Stoltenberg confirms Zelenskyy expected to attend bloc's upcoming Madrid summit

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has indicated that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be expected to attend the NATO summit in the format in which he will be able to participate, given the ongoing war in his country. Stoltenberg announced at the NATO defence ministers' meeting that Zelenskyy would be invited to speak at the Madrid summit on June 29-30, either in person or by videoconference.

According to media reports, NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Joane had also implied that Zelenskyy would be invited to the summit. On the 29th and 30th of June, the NATO Summit will be held in Madrid. However, Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that he does not expect favourable decisions for Ukraine.

"President Zelenskyy will be invited to the summit in Madrid, he will be invited to address the leaders when we meet at the end of the month. We will be happy to welcome him personally, and if this is not possible - in video format," Stoltenberg remarked.

NATO defence ministers would be meeting for two days beginning June 15 to consider increasing weapons shipments to Ukraine as well as Sweden and Finland's applications to join the trans-Atlantic military alliance, according to Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. The meeting comes less than two weeks before a NATO leaders' summit in Madrid, with Kyiv pleading with the West to deliver more and heavier weapons to help stave off Russia's offensive in eastern Ukraine.

Zelenskyy asks for more and faster supply of Western weapons

According to experts, increased military supplies cannot arrive fast enough for Ukrainian forces fighting to prevent Russia from seizing control of their country's industrial east. Zelenskyy had asked for more and faster supply of Western armaments in his nightly address to the country on June 14, further requesting for anti-missile defence systems.

At a meeting on June 15 in Oslo, UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace stated that the goal for the NATO summit in Madrid is to ensure that "that Sweden and Finland are successfully on the next step towards accession into NATO." Meanwhile, the United States' Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, will convene a summit of around 50 nations on June 15 at NATO's headquarters in Brussels to discuss arms transfers to Ukraine. The military ministers gathering this week will also examine efforts to boost up forces along NATO's eastern flank and elsewhere, which have gained traction since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

(Image: AP)