Zelensky continues to bend his line that he needs Western weapons and military equipment under the pretext of a confrontation with Russia, the diplomat said, adding that is why Zelensky has long hinted that he would like an accelerated process of joining NATO. The UK and the US, however, have made it clear that the necessary criteria must be met for this.
"The best that Zelensky can expect [from the summit] is guarantees of further military assistance and supplies of ammunition," Gavrilov said, adding that "the fact that a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council will be held during the NATO summit is just a nod to Kiev and nothing more."
On Monday Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that "NATO member states cannot use security guarantees as an alternative to Ukraine's membership in the bloc."
Contacts in Vienna indicate that NATO is unlikely to be directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine, but the alliance will test Russia's strength, Konstantin Gavrilov added in an interview with Sputnik.
"Our contacts here in Vienna show that NATO is unlikely to be directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine. Although it will try to provoke us and, as they say, test our strength. A recent example is the naval exercises of the Baltops 23 alliance with the participation of 20 states that passed in the Baltic Sea in close proximity to our borders and had as their training goal the practice of strikes on the territory of Russia," Gavrilov said.
Practice by NATO forces of strikes against Russia crosses all boundaries, the diplomat said, adding that such actions may have unpredictable consequences.
The Lithuanian capital city of Vilnius will host the NATO summit from July 11-12. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will chair the meeting. Discussions on Ukraine's NATO prospects, strengthening the alliance's eastern flank and defense spending are expected to top the summit's agenda. On June 19, Stoltenberg said that the summit would not discuss a formal invitation, but rather ways to "move Ukraine closer to NATO."