Ukraine expects "clear sign" toward NATO greeting, Zelensky says

Ukraine expects "a reasonable sign" concerning a challenge to join the NATO coalition during the impending culmination in Lithuania, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday.

"What might be great as far as we're concerned, to be welcomed, what sort of phrasing is required for a greeting, we simply need a greeting, we comprehend that there might be troubles with either, yet we really want to get the unified help of the relative multitude of accomplices of the coalition," Zelensky said during a public interview in Prague with the Leader of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel.

"Someone is glancing back at Moscow, someone fears Russia, despite the fact that I think this is an extraordinary second, an opportunity to show the fortitude of the Union and the strength of the Coalition, yet by the by we are discussing an unmistakable sign, a few substantial things toward a greeting, we really want this inspiration, we want it in our relations," he added.

Zelensky offered thanks to the Czech Republic for its tactical help and its help for Ukraine's enrollment in the European Association.

Some unique situation: Zelensky likewise met with Bulgarian State head Nikolai Denkov on Thursday, which comes about seven days before the 2023 NATO highest point in Vilnius, Lithuania. Ukraine has long pushed to enlist in the tactical union, of which Bulgaria is a part, and that work has taken on new criticalness following Russia's attack.

While Ukraine is supposed to be at the highest point of the plan for world innovators in Vilnius, the cycle for promotion to NATO is long, and Zelensky has recognized that participation would need to hold on until after the conflict with Russia has finished up.