German govt sources say no NATO invitation to Ukraine

At the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius starting on Tuesday, the 31 member states will not extend an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance, according to a source in the German government, reported dpa.

"The time is not right for an invitation to Ukraine, for concrete steps towards membership," said the source in Berlin on Monday. There is apparently no consensus for this among the allies either.

From Germany's point of view, the focus should be on providing Ukraine with concrete help in its battle against Russia. As the second-largest supporter of Ukraine in terms of arms deliveries, Germany has a special role to play here.

In addition, the partnership with Ukraine is to be intensified through the establishment of a NATO-Ukraine Council, which should meet four times a year.

The first meeting is planned during the summit in Vilnius, which takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Ukraine has been demanding a formal invitation to NATO for weeks.

At the weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made his participation in the summit conditional on a decision on Ukraine's membership prospects being taken there first.

Zelensky told US broadcaster ABC News that he wants "all the decisions to be made during the summit," and not in advance.

"I don't want to go to Vilnius for fun if the decision has been made beforehand," he said.