One of the key issues on the agenda of the NATO summit, which will take place in three weeks in The Hague, will be continued assistance to Ukraine.
This was stated by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who spoke at a press conference following the B9 and Nordic summit in Vilnius, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“Today we also discussed Ukraine, a key priority of the summit in The Hague. Dear Volodymyr (Zelensky – ed.), we continue to support Ukraine and we know that a strong and sovereign Ukraine is essential for Euro-Atlantic security,” Rutte said, addressing the President of Ukraine.
The NATO chief noted that the Alliance is currently facing the greatest danger and violence in decades.
“Russia’s war of aggression continues, terrorist threats persist. We are not at war, but we are not at peace either. So we must continue to strengthen our deterrence and defense. And it means pivoting towards a full war-fighting readiness, providing significantly more forces that are well-trained, well-equipped, and supported with logistics, sustainment, and ammunition. We continue to count on the B9 and our Nordic allies to play a key role in these important efforts,” the NATO Secretary General emphasized.
He expressed confidence that during the summit in The Hague, the Allies will demonstrate a real commitment to collective defense by deciding to ramp up defense production and investment.
This concerns the achievement of new capability development goals that the Allies are expected to agree on later this week when the defense ministers meet in Brussels, the NATO chief said. “We have about three weeks left until the NATO summit in The Hague, and I look forward to working with all allies to ensure we will deliver for our 1 billion people,” Rutte added.
As reported, a summit of the Bucharest Nine and Nordic nations was held in Vilnius. The highest-level event was attended by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.
The B9, or the Bucharest Nine, format was created at the initiative of the presidents of Romania and Poland in November 2015 to coordinate the defense efforts of countries on NATO’s eastern flank. In addition to Poland and Romania, the B9 format also includes Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latviam and Estonia. In Vilnius, they were joined by the Nordic Five countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Photo: WEF
Source: Assistance to Ukraine to be key priority of upcoming NATO summit - Rutte
