In the final declaration, which was adopted at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council within the framework of the NATO summit in Washington, writes that Ukraine's path to membership in the alliance is irreversible, BTA reported.
The heads of state and government of the countries of the alliance officially committed themselves to the country attacked by Russia receiving military aid in the amount of 40 billion euros next year and criticized China.
"We intend to provide a core aid package of at least 40 billion euros next year and then maintain security assistance at a sustainable level so that Ukraine wins," the communique said. approved yesterday local time in the US capital by the North Atlantic Council - NATO's highest political decision-making body.
On Friday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that the alliance will provide Ukraine with military aid worth 40 billion euros next year. The Allies have agreed to maintain this financial commitment in 2026 as a minimum level necessary to meet Ukraine's needs for protection against Russian aggression, he added.
However, the €40 billion pledge is not the multi-year financial commitment to support Ukraine that Stoltenberg wanted NATO to approve. Next year, the alliance will review its military aid to this country.
As Acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said at a briefing for Bulgarian journalists in Washington, NATO allies will provide funds in proportion to their gross domestic product.
Hungary, which is against military aid to Ukraine, was given the right not to give it.
NATO leaders announced that Ukraine's path to NATO membership was irreversible, but did not specify a specific time frame. The former Soviet republic will be able to join the Western military alliance when it fulfills the relevant conditions and an agreement is reached between the member countries.
Today NATO leaders will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. Zelensky arrived in Washington with demands for membership and increased aid, especially in the area of air defense.
Yesterday, the first day of their summit, NATO allies committed to providing Ukraine with dozens of air defense systems, including four Patriots.
At the meeting of the North Atlantic Council, it was decided that the pact would begin coordinating military aid to Kiev. This task, until now carried out by the contact group on Ukraine, led by the United States, will be taken over by an official mission of the alliance: NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine - NSATU). It will be based in the city of Wiesbaden, in the central German province of Hesse.
In addition, NATO will send its special representative to Kyiv, who will coordinate political and practical support for Ukraine on the ground.
As for Russia, the alliance leaders condemned the "irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and threatening nuclear signals" on its part, including the announced deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus. At the same time, they expressed readiness to maintain channels of communication with Moscow to "reduce risk and prevent escalation".
Belarus has been explicitly criticized for supporting Russian aggression against Ukraine.
On the other hand, the declaration welcomes the strengthening of cooperation between NATO and the European Union in the context of Ukraine, with the alliance promoting the enhancement of the EU's defense capacity. Developing coherent, complementary and interoperable defense capabilities and avoiding unnecessary duplication is key to making the Euro-Atlantic region more secure.
Alliance leaders have expressed concern over the rapprochement between Russia and China and condemned Beijing's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "The deepening of the strategic partnership between Russia and China, as well as their joint attempts to destabilize and reshape the rules-based international order, is of deep concern," the text said.
The North Atlantic Council pointed to the importance of the Indo-Pacific region, noting that developments there have a direct impact on security in the Euro-Atlantic region.
Today - the last day of their meeting, the leaders of the NATO countries will have a meeting with the participation of the partners from the Indo-Pacific region and the European Union. The leaders of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Ukraine and the EU have been invited, the US State Department announced.
Before the start of the meeting in Washington, China criticized NATO's actions in the Asia-Pacific region.
In the final statement, the leaders of the alliance welcomed the fact that more than two-thirds of the member countries already spend at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense, as Stoltenberg already announced last month.
Bulgaria also fulfills this goal set by the alliance. According to NATO data, our country will spend 2.18 percent of GDP on defense this year, with Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev expressing an expectation that this share will increase in the coming years.
The statement noted that defense spending by European allies and Canada has risen this year by 18 percent, the biggest increase in decades.
NATO leaders also expressed satisfaction with measures to increase the capacity of their countries' defense industries.
They welcomed Sweden joining the alliance. The Scandinavian country became the 32nd member country of the organization in March.
The Washington summit is the last under the chairmanship of Jens Stoltenberg. Later this year, the former Norwegian Prime Minister will be succeeded as NATO Secretary General by the recently appointed Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte. This will happen on October 1 - exactly 10 years after Stoltenberg took office.
The final declaration states that the next NATO summit will take place next June in The Hague, Netherlands. The next high-level meeting will be hosted by Turkey.
For Wednesday evening (early morning today Bulgarian time), US President Joe Biden announced a dinner at the White House for the leaders of the other NATO countries.