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BRUSSELS, 4 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, has announced on Tuesday the commitment of the allies to provide financing and non-lethal aid to Ukraine, within the framework of a multi-year program with which NATO wants to maintain sustainable support for the Ukrainian Army, although it has not offered Ukraine a timetable for joining the organization, as claimed by the Ukrainian authorities.
At a press conference after the joint commission with Ukraine, the most direct meeting between NATO and Kiev since the start of the Russian war of aggression, the NATO political chief highlighted the contributions of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom to this fund and has indicated, in front of the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dimitro Kuleba, that more allies have announced new commitments to form a lasting support plan to reinforce the Ukrainian forces.
“I am optimistic that the allies have realized the importance of giving support through the NATO assistance fund and of having long-term commitments. By the Vilnius summit I hope to have a substantial amount and the commitment of a program multiannual”, he stated after the forum with Ukraine, which had not formally met for five years.
Regarding Kiev’s aspirations to join NATO, Stoltenberg has stressed that the doors of the Atlantic Alliance are open for Ukraine, but has avoided setting a deadline to open accession negotiations as requested by Ukraine, which formally requested its entry last September in response to the Russian annexation of several Ukrainian provinces.
Kuleba has asked during the joint commission for a decision already at the Lithuanian summit to offer a “road map” to Kiev for its accession, allied sources have reported, a demand that the allies are not responding to at the moment.
At a press conference, Stoltenberg insisted that Ukraine’s entry remains in NATO’s plans, which has considered Kiev’s Atlanticist perspective since 2008, but has avoided setting deadlines and has focused on redoubling military support for Ukraine against to the Russian invasion.
“It does not change the position that it will be a member of NATO. At the same time, we all realize that for there to be significant progress, the first step is for Ukraine to prevail as an independent nation,” stressed the former Norwegian prime minister, which considers Ukraine to be able to resist Russia’s military offensive, a “precondition” for any accession talks.
THERE IS NO LONGER TURKISH BLOCKADE ON SWEDEN
The political forum with Ukraine took place on the same day that Finland has formally entered NATO once Turkey has completed the accession process and the United States has received the Helsinki entry document. This after months of reluctance from the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, due to the lack of cooperation in the fight against Kurdish terrorism in Finland and Sweden, the process of which is still pending.
In this regard, the Scandinavian politician has defended that Turkey’s veto on Sweden has declined because talks have resumed within NATO and there are “constant contacts2 for Stockholm to join the Atlantic Alliance for the summit in Lithuania next July.
“Many capitals are working hard to ensure that there is progress,” Stoltenberg said, after the allies have now marked the leaders’ summit as the moment to conclude the process with Stockholm to become NATO’s 32nd ally. .
“There was a blockade, but there is no longer one. For months and weeks there were no contacts in the mechanism between Sweden and Turkey, but after the meeting with Erdogan we decided to resume the process,” he stressed, to remind that this forum will meet again soon and that contacts are underway to make progress on Swedish accession.
