Stoltenberg hopes for Ukraine's NATO membership by 2034
The current NATO Secretary General, on the eve of the summit in Washington, did not rule out the expansion of the alliance in the next 10 years, expressing hope for Ukraine's membership, DW reports.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hopes that Ukraine will become a member of the North Atlantic Alliance in the next 10 years. He said this in an interview with the dpa agency, excerpts from which were published on Friday, July 5.
In addition, ahead of the NATO summit in Washington, which will take place on July 9-11, Stoltenberg called for an increase in military aid to Kiev . The stronger this support is, the faster the war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine can end, he emphasized. According to Jens Stoltenberg, Russian President Vladimir Putin is implementing a strategy of delay in Ukraine, hoping to weaken the West's resolve. "Putin believes that he can outlast us. We must convince him that he cannot outlast us, and then this will create the conditions for ending the war," the NATO Secretary General said.
Ukraine's accession to NATO is not on the agenda
The head of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) Christoph Heusgen previously stated that the issue of Ukraine's admission to NATO would not be considered at the North Atlantic Alliance summit in Washington. At the same time, he expressed confidence that "only NATO membership will give Ukraine a long-term prospect of peace," since any agreements with Russia, in Heusgen's opinion, have no real force.
NATO leaders are expected to sign a pledge in Washington to provide Kiev with €40 billion in military aid in 2025. That sum is equivalent to the amount of Western aid to Ukraine each year since Russia's military invasion of the country began in February 2022.
