Zelenskyy 'gratefully' accepts invitation to take part in G7, NATO summits amid war

As the 'unjustified' war against Kyiv lasted four months with visible devastation of life and property in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has "gratefully" accepted the invitation forwarded by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the General Secretary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg for the Group of Seven (G7) and NATO summits, respectively. In a Twitter post, the embattled President wrote that he will be partaking in the "international events" scheduled to take place in Berlin and Madrid in the coming days.  

Previously, Zelenskyy's attendance at the NATO summit in June was confirmed by the alliance's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Later, NATO's Deputy General Secretary Mircea Joane in a press briefing finalised that Zelenskyy will be "present at the summit in one way or another in Madrid." Joane also briefly highlighted the agenda of the meeting. "Of course, NATO enlargement and Open-Door policy will be an important topic of discussion," she said in a statement.

The two-day NATO summit will begin on June 29. It will witness the participation of all leaders of the member states until June 30. This comes at least two weeks after NATO defence ministers initiated a discussion on an increase in weapons shipment to Ukraine and the candidacy of Finland and Sweden. The ministers are also expected to discuss troops' deployment in the eastern flank of NATO countries in Europe.

Meanwhile, amid the plethora of opinions on Finland and Sweden's ascension to the military bloc, Zelenskyy last month claimed that the war situation could have been averted if Kyiv had been a member of the NATO alliance. "If Ukraine had been part of NATO before the war, there would have been no war," the head of Verkhovna Rada said while speaking at the French University Sciences Po.

Zelenskyy to participate in G7 summit

Zelenskyy also confirmed his presence at the Group of Seven (G7) Summit to be held in the Bavarian Alps. The convention will begin on June 26 until June 28. Based on rotational leadership, Germany will host the vital summit taking place amid growing Russian aggression in eastern Europe. On the agenda at the 48th top leaders' meeting will be a "local challenge that quickly developed to a global one," the G7 webpage noted. State heads of Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US will also be in attendance.

(Image: AP)