During a meeting in The Hague, leaders from seven NATO countries, including Belgium, emphasized the significance of Ukraine's prospective NATO membership. Following the gathering,

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open Vld) stated during a press conference, "Ukraine will one day be part of NATO."

The purpose of the meeting in The Hague was to prepare for the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg affirmed that all member states are in favor of Ukraine joining NATO, emphasizing the importance of sending a clear signal to Ukraine during the summit. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte described the upcoming summit as crucial in terms of demonstrating support for Ukraine.

Due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the country will not participate in next month's summit. However, steps will be taken to establish a NATO-Ukraine Council and create a political framework for further discussions with Ukraine. Security guarantees for Ukraine will also be addressed.

Stoltenberg also commented on the presence of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, and his mercenaries in Belarus. He stated that it is too early to draw conclusions about their activities after their involvement in a brief uprising in Russia over the weekend.

The meeting in The Hague included the participation of Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Gahr Støre, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda.

In addition, it was revealed that Stoltenberg's mandate will be extended by one year due to the lack of consensus on a successor, partly due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Stoltenberg, a former Norwegian prime minister who has held the position of NATO Secretary General since October 2014, was originally scheduled to step down at the end of September. However, his term was extended by one year in March 2022, shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine began, and now it will be further extended. Photo by Senior Master Sgt. Adrian Cadiz, Wikimedia commons.