Zelenskiy presses NATO case at Moldova summit close to Ukraine's border
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[June 01, 2023]
By John Irish and Andrew Gray
BULBOACA, Moldova (Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy pressed his
case for Ukraine to be part of the NATO military alliance as he joined
European leaders on Thursday in Moldova close to his nation's border
ahead of an expected counter-offensive against Russia's invasion.
Addressing leaders at the start of the gathering, Zelenskiy asked NATO
members to take a clear decision on whether to admit Ukraine and also
reiterated calls for Western fighter jets to protect Ukrainian skies
after another deadly strike on Kyiv.
He spoke as divisions between NATO members spilled out into the open
over the speed of Ukraine's accession, with some fearing that a hasty
move could bring the alliance closer to direct confrontation with
Russia.
The summit of the EU's 27 member states and 20 other European states was
being held at a castle deep in Moldovan wine country just 20 km (12
miles) from Ukrainian territory and near the Russian-backed, breakaway
Transdniestria region of Moldova.
Leaders were using the occasion as a symbolic show of support for
Ukraine and Moldova while also tackling other issues, including a spike
in ethnic tensions in Kosovo and efforts towards lasting peace between
Armenia and Azerbaijan.
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Taking place under the watchful eye of NATO surveillance planes, the
summit was a security and organisational challenge for Moldova, an
ex-Soviet republic of 2.5 million people that is seeking a path to EU
accession while being wary of Russia. Moldova shut its airspace except
for official delegation planes.
"This year is for decisions," Zelenskiy said, speaking in English. "In
summer in Vilnius at the NATO summit, a clear invitation from members of
Ukraine is needed, and security guarantees on the way to NATO membership
are needed."
Moldovan President Maia Sandu, a pro-Western leader whose relations with
Moscow became severely strained after Russia's full-scale invasion of
Ukraine last year, was using the summit to push for talks to make
Moldova's EU entry as fast as possible.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine's NATO hopes rested on "unity throughout the
alliance, and we work on it".
He also said Ukraine was working towards holding a summit to discuss
parameters for ending the war but had not set a date yet, as Kyiv wanted
to bring more countries to the table.
'BARBARIC INVASION'
NATO Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) surveillance aircraft
watched the skies over the Moldova summit venue. Missile debris from the
war in Ukraine has been found in Moldova several times since Russia
invaded 15 months ago.
The head of Russia's FSB security service accused the West of pushing
Moldova to participate in the Ukraine conflict.
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![](../images/060123PIX/news_w42.jpg)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
attends a welcome ceremony during a meeting of the European
Political Community at Mimi Castle in Bulboaca, Moldova June 1,
2023. REUTERS/Vladislav Culiomza
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jun/01/images/ads/current/graue_lda_WHITETRUCKpreowned_052223.jpg)
With Kyiv promising a counter-offensive using recently acquired
Western weapons to try to drive out Russian occupiers, much of the
summit's focus will be on Ukraine.
"The presence of these leaders in our country is a clear message
that Moldova is not alone and neither is our neighbour Ukraine,
which for a year and three months has been standing against the
barbaric invasion of Russia," Sandu said earlier.
The EU also aims to use the summit to tackle tensions in northern
Kosovo between the ruling ethnic Albanian majority and minority
Serbs, which have flared into violence in recent days, prompting
NATO to deploy 700 more peacekeepers there.
Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani
accused Serbia of deliberating trying to destabilise his country,
while Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the ball was in
Kosovo's court to defuse the crisis.
The summit was also expected to touch on a range of strategic issues
including energy, cybersecurity and migration.
It provided an opportunity to address other frictions as well,
including between Azerbaijan and Armenia, whose leaders will hold
talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf
Scholz and EU officials.
European Council President Charles Michel said this was a chance for
Azerbaijan and Armenia to show "a common political will to normalise
the relation between both countries".
Moldova, like Ukraine, applied to join the EU last year shortly
after the Russian invasion, and Chisinau was planning to use the
summit to showcase economic and rule-of-law reforms and convince
leaders to open accession talks.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jun/01/images/ads/current/hampton_sda_PROMGRAD_2023.png)
Moldova has taken in more Ukrainian refugees per capita than any
other country just as food and energy prices soared as a result of
the conflict.
The government has accused Russia of trying to destabilise the
mainly Romanian-speaking country through its influence over the
separatist movement in mainly Russian-speaking Transdniestria.
(Reporting by John Irish, Andrew Gray, Olena Harmash, Benoit Van
Overstraeten and Alexander Tanas; writing by John Irish and Matthias
Williams; editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Mark Heinrich)
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