In Dubrovnik on July 12, eight Southeast European foreign ministers joined Ukraine’s delegation for their second ministerial meeting, issuing a joint declaration affirming support for Ukraine and expressing readiness to welcome an invitation to NATO, as was reported by Kyiv Independent on July 13.
At the summit, ministers declared, “We support Ukraine on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership, and would welcome an invitation to Ukraine to join NATO when Allies agree and conditions are met.”
They added that NATO membership remains “the best cost-effective security option for Ukraine,” and affirmed that “neither Russia nor any other state that is not a NATO member has the right to veto the Alliance’s enlargement.”
The declaration also stressed, “The future membership of Ukraine, Republic of Moldova, and our Western Balkan Partners in the EU is vital for the long-term stability, security, and prosperity of our region and Europe as a whole”.
The document was co-signed by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and his counterparts from Croatia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, Albania, North Macedonia, Romania, and Slovenia.
It follows a similar communiqué from the June 11 summit in Odesa—where Serbia’s president declined to sign—underscoring a growing rift between Moscow-aligned leaders and those backing Kyiv’s Euro-Atlantic ambitions.
Earlier, Lithuania’s defense minister vowed at a NATO-Ukraine Council meeting in Vilnius on July 2 that his country would never waver in supporting Ukraine’s accession to NATO, emphasizing that Vilnius will back any invitation extended once allies agree and conditions are met.
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