Moscow doesn’t have a ‘veto against NATO enlargement,’ NATO’s Stoltenberg says

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that every one NATO allies agree that Russia cannot prevent Ukraine’s eventual membership within the military alliance.

Talking to reporters ahead of a casual meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Oslo, Norway, Stoltenberg said all allies agreed that “NATO’s door is open for brand spanking new members.”

“All allies also agree that Ukraine will turn into a member of the alliance, and all allies agree that it’s for the NATO allies and Ukraine to choose when Ukraine becomes a member,” he said.

“It shouldn’t be for Moscow to have a veto against NATO enlargement, but most significantly, all allies agree that probably the most urgent and vital task now’s to make sure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation. President [Vladimir] Putin and Russia must not win this war.”

Stoltenberg also called for motion beyond the tip of the Russia-Ukraine war to ensure Ukraine’s security, with a view to make sure that “history doesn’t repeat itself” and that the “pattern of Russian aggression against Ukraine” involves an end.

Long-term support for Ukraine will probably be discussed on the Thursday meeting in Oslo, but Stoltenberg expects a multiyear plan to align Ukraine with NATO standards and protocols to be established on the formal July summit in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed Stoltenberg’s support and reiterated that Ukraine is hoping to receive a proper NATO invitation to affix.

“What could be very vital is our future within the EU and Ukraine is able to be in NATO, we’re waiting for when NATO will probably be able to host and to see and to have Ukraine,” he told reporters outside of the European Political Community Summit in Moldova on Thursday.

“I believe security guarantees are very vital, not just for Ukraine, [but] for our neighbors, for Moldova, due to Russian aggression in Ukraine and potential aggression for other parts of Europe.”

Asked concerning the potential end of the war, Zelenskyy said the conflict will only stop if Ukraine wins, adding that “Russia can stop this war earlier, they’ll exit to their independent territory from our territory.”

NATO members proceed to supply substantial military support for Ukraine’s war effort in the shape of ammunition and training. The Pentagon on Wednesday announced a recent weapons package price $300 million, comprised of artillery and anti-armor defenses, in addition to ammunition.

The White House said Putin has shown “zero inclination” to desert its war effort because the conflict approaches its five hundredth day, with the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv suffering an aerial bombardment in recent days and drone strikes hitting Moscow.

“I believe this week as you’ve got all seen, Russia has continued to wage only a brutal, completely unprovoked war against Ukraine,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told a White House press briefing on Wednesday.

Talking Turkey

In early April, Finland officially became the thirty first member of NATO — the military alliance predicated on the treaty that an attack on one member nation is an attack on all.

Authorities in Helsinki decided within the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that historically neutral Finland, which shares an 832-mile border with Russia, was now not protected and would profit from the protection offered by NATO membership.

Sweden applied to turn into a member concurrently Finland, but its accession has been held up by two NATO members — Turkey and Hungary.

Stoltenberg told reporters on Thursday that he’ll shortly be heading to Ankara to court Turkey’s sign-off on Sweden’s accession, while Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said that the ratification process “could and may” occur before the NATO summit in Vilnius next month.