Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said that Ukraine should have the right to apply for NATO membership, News.bg reports.
At a press conference in parliament, Orpo stressed that Ukraine's sovereignty should provide it with the opportunity to seek EU and NATO membership after peace negotiations.
“The goal cannot be anything other than for Ukraine to be a sovereign state that has the right to apply for EU and NATO membership if it chooses to do so“, he said.
Orpo warned that Russia remains “a long-term and serious threat to Europe's security“ and stressed that NATO's defense capabilities should not be weakened as part of any peace agreement.
His remarks followed comments by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegsett, who expressed doubt that Ukraine's NATO membership could be part of a peace agreement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently questioned Washington's commitment to Ukraine's NATO ambitions.
European leaders and Kiev have expressed concern about recent actions by U.S. President Donald Trump, who held direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and announced the start of talks to end the war.
Trump's move has raised concerns among European governments that they could be excluded from a possible agreement that could be too favorable to Moscow and undermine European security.