NATO leaders are to discuss Russia, China, and rapidly changing security landscapes with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and counterparts from Indo-Pacific nations on Wednesday.

Mr Zelensky is to attend the first meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a newly created format designed to give Kiev the opportunity to engage with the alliance on an equal footing, rather than just acting as an applicant.

The council meetings are intended to allow Ukraine to raise issues and deepen relations with NATO against the backdrop of Kiev’s aspirations to join the alliance and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

The G7 group of leading democracies, which includes France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the United States, Britain and Germany, is expected to decide on long-term security assurances to Ukraine.

China is to be discussed when NATO leaders meet their counterparts from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea on the second day of the alliance’s summit in Vilnius.

“China is increasingly challenging the rules-based international order, refusing to condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine, threatening Taiwan and carrying out substantial military buildup,” Mr Stoltenberg said this week.

“China’s nuclear modernization is unprecedented in speed and scale and being carried out with no transparency,” he added.

NATO countries earlier agreed to work together “to protect against China’s coercive behavior,” Mr Stoltenberg stated.

The final day of the summit is to also give leaders the opportunity to meet for private one-on-one talks.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden are to meet Zelensky separately to discuss support for Kiev.

(dpa/NAN)