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Ukraine and NATO: Hope for "historic" meeting - Kremlin sees "serious danger" in it

2023-04-21T02:36:42.089Z


At the NATO summit in July, Stoltenberg wants to discuss Ukraine's entry into the western military alliance. Selenskyj demands a quick invitation from his country.


At the NATO summit in July, Stoltenberg wants to discuss Ukraine's entry into the western military alliance.

Selenskyj demands a quick invitation from his country.

Kiev – During a visit to Kiev, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg promised Ukraine talks about joining the military alliance at the upcoming alliance summit in July.

"The future of Ukraine is in the Euro-Atlantic family, the future of Ukraine is in NATO, all allies agree on that," said Stoltenberg on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Moscow has described Ukraine's possible NATO membership as a "serious threat" to Russia.

Ukraine's accession is on the agenda at the NATO summit in Vilnius

At a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Stoltenberg assured that the accession issue would be "high on the agenda" during the NATO summit in Vilnius in July.

The priority of the military alliance is to ensure that Ukraine prevails in the war against Russia.

For his part, Zelenskyj called for his country to be invited to join NATO as soon as possible.

In view of the great support among the member countries for Ukraine's accession, it was "time to make the appropriate decision".

The meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, could "become historic," said the President.

The Ukrainian ambassador to the UK, Wadym Prystajko, also appeared self-confident shortly before Stoltenberg's visit.

Ukraine's entry into NATO will happen "sooner or later," the politician told

Newsweek

.

It

there is no longer any reason to deny Ukraine membership.

+

Handshake in Kiev: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (l) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

© Efrem Lukatsky/AP/dpa

Selenskyj asks for support in negotiations on the supply of war weapons

Zelenskyy also asked NATO to help Kyiv overcome the "reluctance" of some member states to supply certain arms to Ukraine.

It is about long-range weapons, modern combat aircraft, artillery and armored vehicles.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is paying with "the lives of our soldiers who have not yet received the necessary defense tools."

Ukraine's supporters have so far shied away from delivering long-range weapons because Kiev could use them to attack targets on Russian territory.

Stoltenberg's unannounced visit to Kiev was his first to the Ukrainian capital since Russia's war of aggression began more than a year ago.

Ukrainian media published pictures of Stoltenberg in the center of Kiev, in which he could be seen, among other things, in front of a memorial for Ukrainian soldiers killed.

Kremlin wants to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO

The Kremlin said on Thursday that preventing Ukraine from joining the Western military alliance remains one of the main goals of the Russian invasion.

"Otherwise it will pose a serious threat to our country and its security," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

NATO promised Ukraine membership back in 2008.

Putin used Kiev's possible accession as a pretext for his war of aggression against the neighboring country, which he began more than a year ago.

Since Moscow's invasion, Ukraine has once again intensified its efforts to join NATO.

According to Western diplomats, however, this is still more of a long-term perspective.

Zelenskyj, invited to the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, calls for "accelerated" membership.

However, Stoltenberg has indicated that Kiev must first win the war against Russia. 

Denmark and Netherlands announce further military aid to Ukraine

Meanwhile, several countries announced further military aid to Ukraine ahead of a Ukraine Contact Group meeting scheduled for Friday at the US Ramstein Air Force Base.

The Danish Ministry of Defense announced that it would buy 14 Leopard 2 tanks together with the Netherlands and give them to Ukraine free of charge.

Accordingly, the main battle tanks are to be delivered “early 2024”.

Both countries will share the costs of 165 million euros equally.

The meeting in Ramstein will also deal with a possible spring offensive by Ukraine and how the country can best be supported in such a project.

According to Stoltenberg, NATO is concentrating on providing ammunition for weapon systems that have already been delivered. 

It is "extremely important" that the systems can be used "as intended", said Stoltenberg.

This requires, among other things, “enormous amounts of ammunition” and spare parts.

He expects that the member countries and their partners in Ramstein will "make concrete new announcements for military support for Ukraine," said the NATO chief.

(

with material from AFP

)

List of rubrics: © Efrem Lukatsky/AP/dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-04-21

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