NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg , who will soon step down from his post, expressed hope that Ukraine will join the Alliance. In an interview with DPA, quoted by BTA, he said: "I strongly hope that Ukraine will be an ally." Stoltenberg said this in response to a question about the possible expansion of the alliance in the next 10 years.
He also recalled what efforts he made during his tenure as Secretary General to one day make Ukraine an ally in the organization. Stoltenberg recalled that there are other candidates for membership. However, he refused to speculate on when this accession process will be finalized.
The interview Stoltenberg gave on the eve of the summit of the alliance, which will take place next week in Washington. It will also mark the 75th anniversary of the organization, which will also announce new support for Ukraine.
Stoltenberg called on NATO allies to provide Ukraine with more military aid to defeat the Russian invasion. "The stronger our support, the sooner this war will end," he declared.
For his successor, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Stoltenberg said he would be an exceptional secretary-general, whom he has known for years. Regarding Rutte, he added that over the years he has demonstrated the ability to build consensus, and this ability he will bring to NATO as well.
Stoltenberg said it was a privilege for him to lead the Alliance for a decade. He shared that he did not imagine that he would be the Secretary General for as long as he was the Prime Minister of his country.
Among the highlights of his tenure, he described Sweden and Finland joining the Alliance. And as the most bitter moment, he pointed to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has "created the biggest security challenge to NATO since the end of the Cold War and which may be the biggest war in Europe since the end of World War II." war".
Asked if he expected Russia to disrupt in any way the celebrations next week in Washington on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Alliance, Stoltenberg said that there is now a campaign by Russia in Europe of sabotage, arson, cyber attacks, disinformation and added: " "Of course we always have to be prepared that something like this could escalate in one way or another, either in connection with the summit or not."
Regarding the possibility that his successor Rutte will have to work with Donald Trump, Stoltenberg expressed confidence that Rutte will be able to work with whoever is elected US president in November. Stoltenberg said that he would not give advice to Rutte in this regard, because Rutte had already met with Trump when he was prime minister of the Netherlands. He added that he expects the US to remain a strong NATO ally regardless of the outcome of the US election.
Meanwhile, it has become clear that at their summit in Washington, NATO allies will present a plan called "Bridge to Membership" of Ukraine and will announce steps to strengthen the air defense of that country, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA, citing an unnamed high-ranking American representative.
"Allies will confirm that Ukraine's future is in NATO, will announce significant new things about how we can increase NATO's military-political and financial support for Ukraine. This is part of the bridge for Ukraine to NATO," said the representative.
During the summit forum, US President Joe Biden will hold a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of other countries that have signed strategic cooperation agreements with Kyiv, the US representative said. The meeting will be on the sidelines of the NATO summit forum.
In addition, on July 11, US President Joe Biden will hold a press conference on the sidelines of the Alliance summit, Agence France-Presse reported, citing the American representative.