(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Ukraine deserves to be invited to NATO, while Alliance has no right to deviate from its own rules just because the Kremlin wants the organization to do so.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized this during a joint briefing with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We talked about preparations for this year's NATO summit in Washington. Already at this stage, it is safe to say that the summit can become a moment of strength for the Alliance. Or not," he said.

Zelensky explained that it will be decided during the Washington summit whether the Alliance bodies have the opportunity to veto the strengthening of NATO through Ukraine.

Read also: President Zelensky: U.S. defense package already arriving in Ukraine

The head of state emphasized that Ukraine deserves an invitation to NATO because of“our strength, our protection of common values, our importance for the future of the entire Euro-Atlantic."

"We believe that the Alliance should not be afraid of its own power and has no right to deviate from its own rules just because the Kremlin wants such a deviation. I thank every leader and the absolute majority of NATO allies that support Ukraine," the President summed up.

As Ukrinform reported, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed to President Zelensky an invitation to the anniversary summit of the Alliance in Washington on July 9-11.

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