Stoltenberg: NATO, ready for long-term support for Ukraine

2024-05-31 15:13:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that the military alliance should expand its role in supporting Ukraine in its fight against an unprovoked invasion by Russia, as well as make clear to Moscow that Western support for Kiev will continue as long as necessary.

"We need to make sure that Moscow understands that we are ready for long-term support for Ukraine," Stoltenberg told reporters on the second day of the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Prague.

At the NATO meeting in the Czech capital, in which US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also participating, a package of aid to Ukraine will be discussed, which will be presented at the NATO summit in Washington in July.

The ministers are expected to discuss a plan presented by Stoltenberg in April for a framework that would transfer responsibility for military and civilian aid to Ukraine from an informal group led by the US to formal alliance structures.

NATO does not officially supply Kiev with lethal military weapons. But individual NATO countries have long supplied it through the Ukraine Contact Group (UCG), a US-led initiative informally known as the Ramstein Group.

"We will discuss how to maintain and accelerate support for Ukraine. I have proposed that NATO play a greater role in coordinating the provision of security assistance and training to Ukraine. I have also proposed a multi-year financial commitment, to guarantee more accountability and predictability in the support we provide to Ukraine," said Stoltenberg.

Ministers are likely to discuss allowing Kiev to use Western-supplied weapons to carry out attacks inside Russia. The United States and Germany agreed that Ukraine would use their weapons for such a thing, but under certain conditions.

Kiev has the "right under international law to defend itself" against attacks by Russia, near the border with Ukraine, said Steffen Hebestreit, spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Germany's Defense Minister, Boris Pistorius, meanwhile, clarified that Ukraine is allowed to use its weapons "only to fight Russian attacks" in the Kharkiv region, which has been repeatedly attacked by Russia in recent weeks. .

Stoltenberg reiterated on Friday that allies should consider lifting restrictions on Ukraine's use of NATO weapons to strike targets on Russian territory because it is part of Kiev's right to self-defense.