10 months ago
80 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during a property league to contiguous the adjacent North Atlantic Council (NAC) Ministers of Foreign Affairs gathering astatine the NATO office successful Brussels connected April 3, 2023.
Kenzo Tribouillard | AFP | Getty Images
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that each NATO allies hold that Russia cannot forestall Ukraine's eventual rank of the subject alliance.
Speaking to reporters up of an informal gathering of NATO overseas ministers successful Oslo, Stoltenberg said each allies agreed that "NATO's doorway is unfastened for caller members."
"All allies besides hold that Ukraine volition go a subordinate of the alliance, and each allies hold that it is for the NATO allies and Ukraine to determine erstwhile Ukraine becomes a member," helium said.
"It is not for Moscow to person a veto against NATO enlargement, but astir importantly, each allies hold that the astir urgent and important task present is to guarantee that Ukraine prevails arsenic a sovereign, autarkic nation. President [Vladimir] Putin and Russia indispensable not triumph this war."
Stoltenberg besides called for enactment beyond the extremity of the Russia-Ukraine warfare to warrant Ukraine's security, successful bid to guarantee that "history doesn't repetition itself" and that the "pattern of Russian aggression against Ukraine" comes to an end.
Long-term enactment for Ukraine volition beryllium discussed astatine the Thursday gathering successful Oslo, but Stoltenberg expects a multi-year program to align Ukraine with NATO standards and protocols to beryllium established astatine the ceremonial July acme successful Vilnius, Lithuania.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed Stoltenberg's enactment and reiterated that Ukraine is hoping to person a ceremonial NATO invitation to join.
"What is precise important is our aboriginal successful the EU and Ukraine is acceptable to beryllium successful NATO, we are waiting for erstwhile NATO volition beryllium acceptable to big and to spot and to person Ukraine," helium told reporters extracurricular of the European Political Community (EPC) Summit successful Moldova connected Thursday.
"I deliberation information guarantees are precise important, not lone for Ukraine, [but] for our neighbors, for Moldova, due to the fact that of the Russian aggression successful Ukraine and imaginable aggression for different parts of Europe."
Asked astir the imaginable extremity of the war, Zelenskyy said struggle volition lone cease if Ukraine wins, adding that "Russia tin halt this warfare earlier, they tin spell retired to their autarkic territory from our territory."
NATO members proceed to supply important subject enactment for Ukraine's warfare effort successful the signifier of ammunition and training. The Pentagon connected Wednesday announced a caller weapons bundle worthy $300 million, comprised of artillery and anti-armor defenses, arsenic good arsenic ammunition.
The White House said Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown "zero inclination" to wantonness its warfare effort arsenic the struggle approaches its 500th day, with Ukrainian superior Kyiv suffering an aerial bombardment successful caller days and drone strikes hitting Moscow.
"I deliberation this week arsenic you person each seen, Russia has continued to wage conscionable a brutal, wholly unprovoked warfare against Ukraine," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told a White House property briefing connected Wednesday.
Talking Turkey
In aboriginal April, Finland officially became the 31st subordinate of NATO — the subject confederation predicated connected the pact that an onslaught connected 1 subordinate federation is an onslaught connected all.
Authorities successful Helsinki decided successful the aftermath of Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022 that historically neutral Finland, which shares an 832-mile borderline with Russia, was nary longer harmless and would payment from the extortion offered by NATO membership.
Sweden applied to go a subordinate astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic Finland, but its accession has been held up by 2 NATO members — Turkey and Hungary.
Stoltenberg told reporters connected Thursday that helium volition soon beryllium heading to Ankara to tribunal Turkey's sign-off connected Sweden's accession, portion Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said that the ratification process "could and should" hap earlier the NATO acme successful Vilnius adjacent month.
