Stoltenberg says aid announced at Washington summit does not make NATO “partly in conflict”

10 Jul. () –

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday that the €40 billion in aid for Ukraine announced at a summit in Washington would not make the NATO “party to the conflict” but would help Kiev defend itself.

“We are not doing this because we want to prolong a war. We are doing this because we want to end the war as soon as possible,” he said during a press conference, adding that the Alliance must show “commitment and action” and not “bow” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Asked about the statement’s definition that Ukraine’s path to the Atlantic Alliance is “irreversible,” Stoltenberg said that this sends “a strong message” from the allies that they want kyiv to join.

“Words matter and words create expectations, they create an agenda, they define an ambition,” stressed the Secretary General of the Alliance, adding that, in many ways, actions are just as powerful as words.