NATO members agree on plan to help Ukraine, but talks on financial pledges still in progress

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated this at the final pre-conference, reports an Ukrinform correspondent in Brussels.

“On Ukraine, we have agreed a plan that sets out how NATO will lead the coordination of security assistance and training. This will allow NATO leaders to launch this effort at the Washington Summit in July,” Stoltenberg said, adding that this will put NATO’s support for Ukraine on a firmer footing for years to come.

Across the Alliance, this effort is expected to involve some 700 personnel from NATO and partner countries, Stoltenberg added.

NATO will oversee training of Ukrainian recruits at training facilities in Allied countries, support Ukraine through the planning and coordination of donations, manage transfer and repair of equipment, provide support to the long-term development of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, the secretary general explained.

This effort does not make NATO a party to the conflict, Stoltenberg underlined, adding that this support will allow Ukraine to uphold its right to self-defense.

NATO security assistance and support to Ukraine is key Summit deliverable, alongside a long-term financial pledge and further steps toward Ukraine’s membership, the NATO chief stressed.

At the same time, answering a journalist’s question on the discussions of a long-term financial pledge for Ukraine, “from member states to sustain support for Ukraine, Stoltenberg said the allies have not yet agreed on that.

Many allies are very supportive of the idea that NATO needs not only to have short-term pledges, but also longer-term commitments, which would give Ukraine more planning assumptions, more predictability and transparency, and send a clear signal to Russia that “they cannot wait us out”.

As for the effort to move Ukraine closer to membership, Stoltenberg said the issue of “language” is now being negotiated while interoperability and integration developments will also help the nation on the path of becoming a full-fledged ally, Stoltenberg concluded.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, NATO defense ministers met in Brussels on June 13-14, with one of the top issues on the agenda was continued support for Ukraine and increasing NATO’s coordinating role in providing security assistance to the embattled nation.

Meanwhile, Denmark has become the first NATO country to invest in the production of weapons in Ukraine.