Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former Secretary General of NATO and ex-Prime Minister of Denmark, advocated for extending an invitation to Ukraine to join NATO at the Washington Summit in July. He emphasized that this move could potentially be instrumental in bringing an end to Russia's war.

"I know that (NATO's invitation to Ukraine) would be a controversial and at least an unprecedented decision to take, to invite a country already at war into NATO. And I know this would be used as a counterargument from those who are skeptical about extending such an invitation, but that's an extremely dangerous argument to use because it gives (Russian President Vladimir) Putin an incentive to continue his war to prevent Ukrainian membership of NATO. It gives de facto Putin a veto right. And obviously, that's not acceptable, this would send an extremely dangerous message to the rest of the world, such as to China regarding Taiwan"- he said. 

Rasmussen made these remarks during a press conference in Kyiv following a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky and his chief of staff, Andrii Yermak. He stressed the importance of Western allies providing Ukraine with the necessary military support to swiftly resolve the conflict.

"Time has come to lift old self-imposed restrictions on weapons deliveries and deliver all the weapons Ukraine needs as fast as possible,” Rasmussen reiterated. We need to give Ukraine all the weapons Ukraine needs to win this war. That means long-range missiles, fighter jets, heavy battle tanks and electronic warfare systems, drones, everything you need”, - Rasmussen reiterated. 

He also referenced NATO's 2008 decision at the Bucharest Summit, where Ukraine and Georgia were not invited to join but were assured of potential future membership. He highlighted Russia's opposition to NATO's inclusion of these two nations, citing the country's repeated threats.

"Obviously, it was a mistake back in 2008 to promise Ukraine membership to NATO and then doing nothing to follow up. And we should not repeat that mistake", - said Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former Secretary General of NATO. 

He noted that Germany and France had blocked the invitation in 2008, a decision that was strongly criticized by Kyiv but supported by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Rasmussen urged against repeating this mistake, drawing on his experience as NATO Secretary General from 2009 to 2014.