Ukraine War: We’ll ensure that Putin does not do this again! — NATO
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The Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, has disclosed that the alliance will create a “frameworks to provide the necessary security guarantees” for Ukraine in order “to ensure that [President Vladimir Putin of Russia] does not do this again.”
Mr. Stoltenberg made the disclosure after meeting the alliance’s top diplomats in Oslo, following informal talks with its foreign ministers on Thursday.
He said that NATO is working on a framework to halt Russia’s “cycle of aggression” against Kyiv, as well as an “urgent task” of ensuring Ukraine wins the war.
NATO chief Stoltenberg said assured that the alliance also needs a working framework to build on after the conflict ends.
The ministers met in the Norwegian capital of Oslo for a second and final day of informal talks that seek to unify positions on Ukraine support and defense spending ahead of a NATO leaders summit in Lithuania in July.
The NATO head told reporters that while no decisions were made during the informal talks, all of the alliance’s members agree “Ukraine will become a member of NATO” but the war must come to an end first.
“The most important thing for NATO and Ukraine is to assure that they win this war,” Stoltenberg said. “And we are providing an unprecedented level of support.”
When asked about setting up a concrete set of steps for Ukraine’s NATO accession after the war ends, Stoltenberg said the alliance is working on a framework to ensure Ukraine’s security and the wider security of the rest of Europe.
“We need to stop this vicious circle of aggression against Ukraine,” he told reporters.
Sweden, whose NATO membership bid has been stalled by resistance from Turkey and Hungary, also took part in the informal discussions in Oslo.
Lithuania and Spain’s foreign ministers both said the alliance needs to set out concrete steps for Ukraine’s membership after the war ends.
However, Hungary’s foreign minister insisted the accession of Ukraine should not be on the agenda during July’s NATO summit.
“We have to be clear on this: the NATO accession of a country currently at war cannot be on the agenda,” Peter Szijjarto said on his Facebook page.
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Szijjarto added that a timetable for Ukraine’s accession should not be discussed either.
Hungary, a member of both the EU and NATO, has been a reluctant supporter of the West’s sanctions on Russia.
Another issue high on the list of the foreign ministers’ talks was Sweden’s stalled membership bid in the alliance.
Stoltenberg, as well as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Baerbock, emphasized that they fully expect Sweden to soon become a member.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said that his country had fulfilled “all the commitments” to join NATO.
Sweden’s membership bid, however, remains up in the air amid pushback from NATO members Turkey and Hungary.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was reelected on Sunday for another five-year term, had accused Sweden of harboring “terrorists,” particularly members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Read more.
