NATO committed itself on Tuesday to offering membership to Ukraine in the future.
The alliance also reiterated its military commitment to aid Ukraine, NBC News reported.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that “NATO’s door is open” to Ukraine. He made the remark at a meeting in Romania in which NATO members gathered to encourage support for Ukraine.
“Russia does not have a veto” on countries joining NATO, Stoltenberg added, speaking about the recent memberships of North Macedonia and Montenegro.
He confirmed that Finland and Sweden will also soon become members, which will not sit well with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Both countries applied to join in April after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Stoltenberg, the former Norwegian prime minister, said that “we stand by that, too, on membership for Ukraine.”
“At the same time, the main focus now is on supporting Ukraine, ensuring that President Putin doesn’t win, but that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign nation in Europe," he said.