[1/3] Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visit the Velvet Revolution Memorial in Prague, Czech Republic, July 7, 2023.
In Prague, he won a pledge of support for Ukraine to join NATO "as soon as the war (with Russia) is over", and in Sofia secured backing for membership "as soon as conditions allow".
"There is strength in unity of NATO," he said, adding that undecided questions over Ukraine's future in NATO and Sweden's pending membership were "a threat to the alliance's strength".
Zelenskiy has acknowledged that Kyiv is unlikely to be able to join NATO while at war with Russia.
TALKS DUE IN TURKEYDespite Russia's anger, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala told a news conference with Zelenskiy in Prague that he expected all NATO allies to support Ukraine in its membership aspirations.
Persons:
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Petr Fiala, Zelenskiy, Jens Stoltenberg, Stoltenberg, Zuzana Caputova, Vladimir Putin, Fiala, Tayyip Erdogan, Jason Hovet, Pavel Polityuk, Timothy Heritage, Gareth Jones, Philippa Fletcher
Organizations:
Presidential Press Service, NATO, EU Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy, European Union, Thomson
Locations:
Czech, Prague, Czech Republic, Ukraine, PRAGUE, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia, Sofia, Bratislava, Vilnius, Lithuanian, Brussels, Russian, Russia's, TURKEY, Europe, Kyiv, United States, Istanbul