Zelenskky says Ukraine to submit fast-track Nato membership bid

Lviv, Ukraine, Sep 30 (EFE).- Ukraine will formally submit an “accelerated” application for Nato membership, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday following Russia’s decision to annex four Ukrainian regions.

Ukraine’s leader said his country was already a “de facto” ally and that it was applying to make it “de jure.”

“We trust each other, we help each other and we protect each other. This is what the Alliance is. De facto,” Zelenskyy said, according to an English version of the statement on the presidential website.

“Today, Ukraine is applying to make it de jure. Under a procedure consistent with our significance for the protection of our entire community. Under an accelerated procedure,” he added.

“This is fair. This is also fair for Ukraine. This is the consolidation at the level of the treaty of what has already been achieved in life and what are our values,” he said.

In a video shared on social media, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready to negotiate with Russia but not president Vladimir Putin.

Nato applications require the backing of all member states.

This year, both Finland and Sweden applied to join the Alliance in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy made the announcement Friday following a national security meeting as Putin moved to absorb the partially-occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, which equates to some 15% of Ukraine’s land.EFE

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