BULBOACA, Moldova (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s relentless pursuit of more political and security support from NATO received a warm welcome but no concrete commitments Thursday during a sprawling summit where nearly all European leaders had gathered to condemn Russia and Belarus uninvited. .
Almost hoarse from rallying support for his nation week after week, Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to neighboring Moldova that ended up being the centerpiece of an event designed to quell regional conflicts and strengthen Europe’s unity in the face of Russian war
After a day of talks in a stately country cellar, Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s best security guarantee was membership of NATO and the European Union, and that any proposed peace plans to end the 15-month war in his country could not be. take into account Russian concerns.
He told the leaders sitting with him that during a NATO summit planned for July, “a clear invitation to Ukraine’s membership and security guarantees on the road to NATO membership are needed “. Ukraine also needs “a clear positive decision” on its entry into the EU in the fall, Zelenskyy added.
French President Emmanuel Macron, the instigator of the summit of the European Political Community, supported Zelenskyy’s call.
With NATO leaders meeting on July 11-12 in the Lithuanian capital, “it is imperative that the Vilnius summit can give this strong assurance, new credible assurances and a clear perspective to Ukraine,” he said Macron.
Zelenskyy is looking to Ukraine’s economic future in the wealthy 27-nation EU with equal urgency. He wants a full commitment from EU leaders when they meet in October to start accession talks.
“Ukraine has made impressive progress on its path to the EU. We stand by you. We will work hard together to achieve this goal,” promised European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The EU hoped to use Thursday’s summit to reach out to many Eastern European countries that spent decades inside the Soviet Union or under its immediate sphere of influence, and to strengthen the continent’s unified response to Russian aggression.
Macron said the summit delivered concrete results and that leaders pledged to extend the EU’s cyber and critical infrastructure protection systems to all nations of the European Political Community that sought them. He also said nations would have better protection against disinformation.
The choice to hold the summit in Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people and Europe’s poorest nation, was seen as a message to the Kremlin by both the EU and the government pro- western Moldova, which became a candidate for the EU. member at the same time as Ukraine in June 2022.
Cradled by Ukraine on three sides, Moldova aspires to join the EU by the end of the decade and has consistently voiced its support for Ukraine and taken in refugees fleeing the war.
The summit site was just 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the border with Ukraine. Moldovan President Maia Sandu has warned of alleged plots by Moscow to overthrow her government through external saboteurs.
At the end of the summit, Sandu said her country was on an “irreversible path to joining the European Union” and that she and her European partners had told Zelenskyy that “we will stand by Ukraine as long as whatever is needed”.
Zelenskyy was the first foreign leader to arrive at the summit venue on Thursday. Dressed in his olive green shirt and cargo pants, he sought to dispel doubts about his country’s EU and NATO membership, telling the assembled leaders that Moscow would exploit those misgivings.
“We must remember that every doubt we show here in Europe is a trench that Russia will try to occupy for good,” he said.
Zelenskyy urged the continuation of Western military aid to Ukraine, saying it was saving lives and “literally accelerating peace.” He insisted that all countries bordering Russia should be full members of the EU and NATO, as Moscow “tries to swallow only those outside the common security space”.
“When there are no guarantees of security, there are only guarantees of war,” he said.
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Casert reported from Brussels. Jovana Gec in Belgrade, Serbia, and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.
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