NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrived in Ukraine for the first time since the start of the military operation on the territory of the country. The visit took place on the eve of the meeting of the International Contact Group on Ukraine in Ramstein. Russian media has collected details of Stoltenberg’s visit to Kiev.
“Kiev needs something more”
Stoltenberg’s visit became known on the morning of April 20. The media published photos of the Secretary-General in Kiev. The alliance leader visited the memorial of fallen Ukrainian soldiers and an exhibition of destroyed Russian equipment in the city center. He traveled to Bucha, a town which in March 2022 was under the control of the Russian army for about two weeks. Ukraine accuses the Russian military of killing local residents. Moscow complaints that the crimes were committed after the withdrawal of Russian troops.
In Kiev, Stoltenberg met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. At a joint press conference after the meeting, the Ukrainian leader said four issues were discussed.
“The first is Rammstein. The meeting to be held tomorrow and the decisions we expect from the partners. This concerns first of all the armed support of our active actions.
Secondly, he addressed the Secretary General to ask him to help us overcome partner restrictions in the supply of long-range weapons, modern aviation, artillery and armored vehicles,” Zelenskyy said.
The third point of the negotiations was the NATO summit, which will be held on July 11-12 in Vilnius and to which Zelenskyy received an invitation. The fourth question was “security guarantees for Ukraine and Ukrainians on the way to NATO,” the president said.
Zelenskyy said he expected “very concrete” progress from NATO. According to him, Kiev needs “something more” than the current format of relations with the alliance.
“We highly appreciate that allied countries are supporting us with weapons, but we want to understand when Ukraine will be in NATO. And we also want security guarantees along the way,” he said.
At the same time, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine does not consider any alternative to joining the North Atlantic Alliance. “I say this to some leaders, to some states who are constantly looking for a compromise on Ukraine’s future NATO membership,” he said.
Aid of 150 billion euros
Jens Stoltenberg said that Ukraine’s NATO membership is supported by all members of the military bloc.
“Let me be clear. Ukraine’s rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family. Ukraine’s rightful place is in NATO. And over time, our support will enable you to make that possible,” he said. said the Secretary General.
The NATO chief expects that at the Vilnius summit, the members of the alliance will confirm that they will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. The topic of Ukraine’s NATO membership and security guarantees for it will be discussed in Vilnius, but now, according to the Secretary General, the focus is on helping Kiev in the conflict with Moscow.
Stoltenberg said that since February 2022, NATO allies have provided more than €150 billion in support to Ukraine, including €65 billion in the form of military assistance. According to the Secretary General, this allowed the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to regain control of the territories of the Kiev, Kharkiv and Kherson regions. In addition, NATO has trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers.
“And now the alliance members are providing more planes, tanks, armored vehicles,” Stoltenberg said.
The NATO Secretary General also expects participants in the Ramstein meeting to “announce concrete military assistance” to Kiev.
“Putin must not win. If other authoritarian leaders see Putin winning, they will think they can achieve their goals through such military means,” Stoltenberg said.
Moscow’s reaction
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, meanwhile said preventing Ukraine from joining NATO was one of the goals of the Russian military operation.
“Undoubtedly. Because otherwise it will pose a serious and significant danger to our country, to its security,” Peskov said in a briefing (quoted by Interfax ).
Regarding Ukraine’s NATO membership prospects in the framework of Stoltenberg’s visit, the Russian President’s press secretary said: “The Kremlin has no assessment of these prospects.”
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