“A good decision”: Stoltenberg announces new membership pledge to Ukraine at NATO summit
19 June 2024 11:18
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has announced a number of decisions to support Ukraine that will be taken at the upcoming NATO Summit. These decisions include a new commitment that Ukraine will one day become a NATO member. He made the announcement at a joint conference with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Washington, D.C., reports "Komersant Ukrainian"
“I am confident that we will have a wording that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance,”
– the Secretary General said.
According to the Secretary General, there is already a NATO plan to train and provide security assistance to Ukraine. Stoltenberg also expects new announcements on additional military support for Ukraine.
He also put forward proposals for a longer-term commitment to support Ukraine.
“I am firmly convinced that the stronger our support is and the more convincing our long-term commitment to Ukraine is, the sooner this war can end,” he said,
– he stressed.
Stoltenberg added that the exact wording and agreements are currently being discussed by NATO allies, but he is confident that a “good solution” will be reached by the summit.
US Secretary of State Blinken, for his part, spoke extensively about supporting Ukraine, but noted that Ukraine still has many challenges on its path to NATO.
“Going forward, we want to make sure that Ukraine succeeds, that it stands on its own two feet militarily, economically, democratically, and that’s exactly what we’re enabling Ukraine to do. And this is a sign of success in the future. Again, the decisions that will be made at the summit will contribute to this effort, and more will be said in a few weeks,”
– blinken added.
This year, NATO leaders will gather for the 75th anniversary summit in Washington, DC, from 9 to 11 July.
“A festival of security agreements”
As Ukraine is not yet expected to join NATO, the “Festival of Security Agreements with Ukraine” is gaining momentum, with Western countries guaranteeing our security under bilateral agreements such as the Budapest Memorandum. Ukraine has already signed 17 such agreements with the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Denmark, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Finland, Latvia, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, Japan, and the United States. Under these agreements, these states pledge to support Ukraine in the face of the Russian threat with finance, weapons and humanitarian aid.
Poland may be among the next signatories, as it is known that the government is negotiating with this country.
