Stoltenberg: all NATO countries agree that Ukraine should become a member of the Alliance

All NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine will eventually become a member. However, the focus now is on ensuring the country's victory in the war against the aggressor Russia.

This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg before the Ramstein meeting at an air base in Germany on April 21. His words were quoted by Reuters.

The diplomat stressed that after the end of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, Kyiv must have "deterrence to prevent new attacks". That is why NATO member states are now focusing on ensuring that Ukrainians win.

Recall that on April 20, Jens Stoltenberg came to Kyiv on a visit that was his first since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops.

He met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who stressed that there were no "barriers to political decision-making" regarding the country's membership in NATO. He also said that security guarantees should be in place now, but should not become an alternative to joining the bloc.

"Let me be clear: Ukraine's rightful place is in the Euro-Atlantic family. Ukraine's rightful place is in NATO," the Alliance Secretary General said.

He expressed NATO's unequivocal support for Ukraine. In particular, he assured that it began after Russia's occupation of Crimea in 2014 and would not weaken until the post-war reconstruction of our country.

Sky News notes that to date, NATO allies have trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and provided the country with €65 billion in military aid alone.

Arriving at the Ramstein meeting in Germany, Stoltenberg said that Zelenskyy had accepted an invitation to attend the NATO summit in Vilnius in July. The Secretary General also commented on journalists' remarks that Ukraine had made concrete steps towards NATO membership a condition for its president's participation in the summit.

"As I said yesterday in Kyiv, Ukraine's future lies in the Euro-Atlantic family. All NATO Allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a NATO member. But the main focus now, of course, is on how to ensure that Ukraine gains the upper hand in the war. Our support helps Ukraine move towards Euro-Atlantic integration, and our assistance allows them to make this possible," the Secretary General concluded.

As OBOZREVATEL previously reported, according to The New York Times, Finland's recent NATO membership is tantamount to another important unintended consequence of the war for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Experts say that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has pushed the Alliance to take decisive action to develop a new defence strategy to prevent a temporary occupation.

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