The President of Slovenia, Borut Pahor, at today's meeting of the Araiolos group in Malta, said that NATO must leave the door open for Ukraine, after Kyiv recently requested membership in the alliance.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Valletta meeting, he stressed the need to preserve the unity of the NATO alliance. Regarding Ukraine's request for full membership in NATO, he believes that the country "has the full right to choose its own foreign and security policy" and that the alliance must leave the door open for it.

Pahor added that all 30 NATO members must decide on that.

According to him, in facing the consequences of the war in Ukraine as well as in the relationship with the Russian Federation, it is important for the EU to maintain and strengthen unity. As Pahor underlined, Europe must not repeat the mistake of 2014, when it responded insufficiently decisively to the Russian occupation of Crimea.

He urged the leaders to be flexible when it comes to EU expansion in the Western Balkans region.

The meeting of the leaders of the Araiolos group of countries is taking place in Valletta. In addition to Malta, members of the group are Estonia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Hungary, Croatia, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia.

At the center of the discussion this year is the exchange of views on the effects of the war in Ukraine on security and stability in eastern and southeastern Europe.

The leaders of the member states of the European Union meet in this format once a year since 2003.