NATO Meeting Failed Before It Started, Zhakarova Says

On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) failed before it even began.

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She described it as a rare case where the summit started but had already failed. Zakharova listed a series of situations that led to this outcome, starting with the United States' decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine.

Zakharova also highlighted other foreign policy mistakes by Washington that influenced the NATO Summit, such as the public humiliation of Ukraine and the absence of a coherent understanding of what is happening.

Meanwhile, during his opening remarks at the two-day meeting in Vilnius (Lithuania), NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Finland, attending for the first time as a member, and Sweden, which he described as a future member of the 31-member military alliance.

"Today, we will make many decisions. To strengthen our alliance, we will increase our practical and political support to Ukraine... this will bring Ukraine closer to NATO, where it belongs," Stoltenberg said.

"We will also take bold steps to further strengthen our deterrence and defense, including new plans for defending the New Atlantic area. And we will agree on a more ambitious defense investment commitment," he added.

These statements appear to confirm Russia's claims that NATO is heavily involved in the Ukrainian conflict, as Zakharova reiterated during an interview with Al Jazeera.

"Do you really think that NATO is not at war with Russia? In fact, it's NATO that supplies all the weapons, fighters, mercenaries, instructors, advisors, and intelligence data to the Kiev regime," she said.

"NATO is unquestionably involved in these military activities; there is no doubt about it. It is NATO that has pushed the Kiev regime this far," Zakharova added.