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Jens Stoltenberg says “Ukraine is now closer to Nato than ever before” and says he “looks forward to the day we meet as allies”.
Stoltenberg added: “We must ensure that when this war ends, there are credible arrangements in place for Ukraine’s security which will help deter any future aggression from Russia”.
Jens Stoltenberg and Volodymyr Zelenskiy are giving a joint press conference. You can watch it in the blog. You might need to refresh the page for the play button to appear. We will bring you the key lines.
Dan Sabbagh is in Vilnius for the Guardian and reports these words from Ben Wallace:
The British defence secretary suggested Ukraine needed to put more emphasis on saying thank you for western help when he was asked about President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s complaints on Tuesday that the country had not been issued a firm timetable or set of conditions for joining Nato.
Ben Wallace said Ukrainians’ haste to get all the help they could meant they did not always say they were grateful for the help received. “Whether we like it or not, people want to see a bit of gratitude,” the minister said at a briefing in the margins of the Nato summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.
“Sometimes you are asking countries to give up their own stocks” of weapons, he said, adding tha making repeated demands from the west could risk alienating some key constituencies. “Sometimes you have to persuade lawmakers on the [Capitol] Hill in America,” he added.
Wallace revealed that he had travelled to Ukraine last year to be presented with a shopping list of weapons. “You know, we’re not Amazon,” he said. “I told them that last year, when I drove 11 hours to be given a list.”
But he said he understood Zelenskiy was speaking to his own public and that despite his complaint on Tuesday, the final summit deal was a good one for Ukraine. There was an acceptance that “Ukraine belongs at Nato” and that amounted to an effective invitation for membership whenever the conflict died down.
Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has hailed as “more good news from Vilnius” a bilateral agreement signed between his country and Sweden.
On social media, Reznikov posted “Ukraine and Sweden signed an agreement on cooperation in defence procurement. This document provides great opportunities both for our armed forces and for Swedish companies like Saab and others.”
The post followed an earlier one, in which Reznikov confirmed Ukraine and Sweden signed “an agreement on the exchange and mutual protection of classified information”.
He added: “Trust is the cornerstone of a strong partnership. And access to information is the key to success.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government will hold talks with its nationalist parliamentary ally on ratifying Sweden’s Nato accession, a senior official said on Wednesday, after the Nationalist Movement party (MHP) appeared to take a negative view on the issue.
Reuters reports the MHP leader, Devlet Bahçeli, said on Tuesday that Sweden had failed to distance itself from terrorism, but added that Erdoğan would make the final call.
Erdoğan’s AK party relies on the MHP for a parliamentary majority, which is required to push through the ratification.
Turkey and Hungary remain the only two members of the Nato alliance yet to ratify Sweden’s membership.
Reuters has a quick snap to report that the Kremlin said on Wednesday it was misguided and “potentially very dangerous” for the west to give Ukraine security guarantees.
The Kremlin claimed they would infringe on Russia’s own security.
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Andriy Yermak, who is head of Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office and in Vilnius with the president, has posted to Telegram saying, “We have good agreements on arms with our allies,” shortly after postiing a message with the handshake emoji alongside Canadian, Australian and UK flags.
The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and Volodymyr Zelenskiy have held a meeting at the Nato summit, Ukraine’s president has confirmed. He posted to Telegram to say:
Meeting with Rishi Sunak. Third meeting and third success for Ukraine at the summit today. Defence, politics, our common security. We thanked for the weapons, in particular long-range weapons and strong support for Ukraine on the way to Nato. And we are preparing security guarantees for Ukraine on the way to Nato. A very good meeting!
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has thanked Germany on his Telegram channel for agreeing to send more Patriot launchers and missiles to Ukraine after speaking with Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Nato summit in Vilnius. In a message, Ukraine’s president posted:
We continued the conversation about security guarantees for Ukraine on the way to Nato with Chancellor Scholz. Thank you for your support!
There is an agreement on additional Patriot launchers and missiles for them from Germany. This is very important for protecting life in Ukraine from Russian terror!
I am grateful for Germany’s readiness for long-term, long-term support of Ukraine and our defence of freedom. Long-term support programmes are the best signal to everyone in the world that our Europe will remain a space of security and peace.
The Guardian’s senior China correspondent, Amy Hawkins, reports:
Nato appears to have shelved, at least for now, plans to open a liaison office in Tokyo.
A joint communique published on Tuesday did not mention plans for the office, which had been discussed as part of the alliance’s plans to deepen cooperation with partners in the Asia-Pacific.
For the second year running, heads of state from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea attended the summit, which is increasingly concerned with the threat of China alongside Russia.
France had openly opposed the plans for a Nato liaison office in Tokyo, concerned that it would antagonise China and be interpreted as territorial overreach.
On Wednesday, the Chinese mission to the EU said it was “deeply concerned” about Nato’s “ambition of seeking expansion” and “eastward movement into the Asia-Pacific”.
The joint communique said that China’s “stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values” and expressed concern about its “deepening strategic partnership with Russia”.