Ukraine's path to NATO is irreversible, Russia has no say in this matter, the pact's Secretary General Mark Rutte said today at a joint press conference with the President of Finland, Alexander Stubb. Rutte noted that Stubb is the first head of state from the alliance to receive at the pact's headquarters in Brussels after taking office on October 1, BTA reports.
The Secretary General pointed out that Finland joined NATO 18 months ago and is about to host a new allied battle group and a new headquarters to lead operations in the region. We discussed Russia's malicious actions, Rutte added, and congratulated the EU for introducing the possibility of imposing sanctions for such activity.
President Stubb noted that his country has so far secured 25 shipments of military aid to Ukraine and does not impose restrictions on how Kiev can use the equipment as long as it follows international law. Stubb called on the rest of the allies to expand the possibilities of using the armaments provided by them to the Ukrainian side.
Russia remains the most direct threat to the pact and to Finland, waging two types of war - with conventional hostilities in Ukraine, not following international law, but also with hybrid attacks, the Finnish president added. He expressed expectation that the cases of disinformation and sabotage on the Russian side will increase.