NATO summit kicks off in Vilnius on Tuesday

The two-day NATO summit in Vilnius starts on Tuesday. The first meeting of the Alliance Lithuania is hosting will see more than 40 foreign leaders, heads of diplomatic missions, defence ministers and other high-ranking officials gathering for talks on strengthening NATO’s collective defence, deterrence and support to Ukraine.

Over 3,000 members of foreign delegations, some 2,000 representatives of non-governmental organisations and the international media are estimated to be in Vilnius for the summit on 11-12 July.

Support for Ukraine, Kyiv's membership perspective

At the Vilnius summit, Ukraine hopes to receive a clear signal on its NATO membership perspective. However, Western and Alliance leaders point out that membership cannot be considered with Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

Last week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg indicated that in Lithuania, the Alliance would “reaffirm” its previous commitment that Ukraine would join NATO in the future.

He said that the leaders would also agree on a long-term aid package, stronger political ties and the establishment of a Ukraine-NATO Council. At the same time, the United States has announced Washington is ready to offer similar security guarantees to Ukraine as it does to Israel.