Nato's conditions for Ukraine joining alliance 'absurd', Zelensky says
Ukraine's President has called Nato's demands for certain conditions to be met before joining the alliance "absurd" at a summit in Lithuania.
President Volodymyr Zelensky went to the meeting in Vilnius seeking promises Ukraine could join the alliance once the war with Russia is over.
At a joint press conference with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Mr Zelensky made the case again for swift entry to the Alliance.
"I would like to have a success on this summit for everyone, for our soldiers, for our citizens, for our children, for everyone and particularly the security guarantees that are so important for the people," he said.
"The security guarantees for Ukraine on our way to Nato, not instead of Nato, but as a security guarantees on our way to integration."
It comes after US President Joe Biden said "the middle of a war" is not the time for Ukraine to join Nato.
In an interview with CNN, President Joe Biden said he doesn't think Ukraine "is ready for membership" in the alliance as members of the alliance get set to meet in Vilnius, Lithuania to discuss what steps are necessary for Kyiv to qualify for Nato membership.
For Ukraine, the issue of how and when it gains Nato membership is key, but for Nato, it means treading a fine diplomatic line as it tries to back Kyiv but also avoid all-out conflict with Russia.
Ukraine knows it can't push too hard as it needs Nato on its side for the long haul, as none of its ambitions will ultimately matter if it loses this war.
Germany and France also pledged more weapons to Ukraine at the summit, including the French version of the Storm Shadow cruise missile, the SCALP.
Paris says it will send up to 50 of them to Kyiv, while Germany is promising two more Patriot air defence systems, 40 Marder infantry vehicles and 25 more Leopard 1 tanks.
The summit also saw 11 states sign a memorandum with Ukraine outlining how its pilots will be trained on American F-16 fighter jets.
Ukrainian defence ministers say the training programme may include other types of fighter aircraft too.
Russia's response to the summit in Lithuania was a series of drone attacks across Ukraine, with Kyiv saying it shot down 26 of 28 Iranian Shahed drones fired into Ukraine.
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