Erdogan says ending conflict in Ukraine will make it easier for Ukraine to join NATO

Ending the conflict in Ukraine will make it easier for the country to join NATO, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. He made such a statement before leaving for the NATO summit in Vilnius.

“We will review the decisions taken at the Madrid summit to strengthen the NATO deterrence and defense structures and support partners, in particular Ukraine. We are also organizing the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, which was created as a demonstration of NATO and allies’ support for Ukraine,” said the Turkish President (quote according to TASS).

On July 8, Erdogan said that Ukraine deserves NATO membership. He made such an assessment following a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky. Then the Turkish President also noted that “despite the differences in understanding between the parties, we sincerely wish to return to the search for peace as soon as possible.”

The NATO summit will be held from 11 to 12 July in Vilnius (Lithuania). After joining Russia in the fall of 2022, the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukraine would apply for NATO membership in an expedited manner. On July 4 of this year, Zelensky acknowledged that the admission of Ukraine to NATO is impossible while hostilities continue on its territory.

At the same time, on July 7, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance would provide a “multi-year assistance plan to ensure the full compliance of the Ukrainian armed forces with NATO.” In addition, on July 5, the Secretary General announced the creation of a council together with Ukraine, the first meeting of which will be held at this summit.