NATO summit: Alliance seeks no confrontation with Russia, sees her as biggest threat

As a result of the first day of the NATO summit in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, the member-countries of the alliance made a number of important decisions for the bloc.

They agreed on defence investment goals of at least two percent of GDP, unanimously agreed to invite Ukraine to join the alliance, agreed to exempt Ukraine from the NATO membership action plan and also declared no desire for confrontation with Russia.

According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the main goal of the two-day event is to increase the volume of military and financial assistance to Ukraine.

Here is the communiqué of the NATO summit in Vilnius:

• Russia is the largest and direct threat to the security of NATO countries, as well as to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area. NATO holds Russia responsible for hostilities in Ukraine and demands an immediate end to them.
• NATO welcomes Zelensky's commitment to establishing peace principles through his "peace formula".
• The growing military integration between Russia and Belarus will have consequences for the regional stability and defence of the alliance. NATO will closely monitor the potential deployment of private military companies in Belarus.
• NATO seeks stability and predictability in relations with Russia. The Alliance does not seek confrontation nor does it pose a threat to Russia, but it can not consider Russia as a partner. The alliance is ready to keep open channels of communication with Russia to prevent escalation.

Russia's possible victory as tragedy for Kyiv

On July 12, Jens Stoltenberg said that Russia's possible victory in the conflict would be a tragedy for Kyiv. It would also leave NATO vulnerable.

“The biggest risk is if [Russian President Vladimir] Putin wins the war by force, that will be the biggest risk. It will be a tragedy for Ukraine, but it will also make us more vulnerable,” the head of the alliance said.

Ukraine as security donor for NATO

Meanwhile, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking at the NATO summit in Vilnius, said that Ukraine had become a "security donor" for NATO.

According to him, now the world is experiencing a "security deficit", and Ukraine's cooperation with partner countries should fill this gap.

Summing up the results of the summit, Zelensky said that its results were "good" for the republic. However, if the alliance agreed to invite Ukraine to the alliance, the results "would be great."

Speaking at a press conference, the Ukrainian president said that the country would soon receive 30 Bushmaster armoured vehicles from Australia.