Stoltenberg: NATO will continue to support Ukraine
In the annual report published on NATO’s website on March 14, 2019, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization reaffirm their decisions regarding Ukraine’s desire to join the alliance.
“In light of Ukraine’s restated aspirations for NATO membership, the Allies also stand by their decisions taken at the Bucharest Summit and subsequent Summits,” stated the section “NATO’s Open Door.”
The NATO Secretary General recalls that the Alliance continues to support “the defense capacity of our partners, from Jordan and Tunisia to Ukraine and Georgia.”
“A sovereign, independent and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and the rule of law is key to Euro-Atlantic security. Since Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexation of the Crimea in 2014, NATO has stepped up political and practical support to Ukraine. This commitment was reconfirmed at the Brussels Summit in July 2018, where NATO leaders met with President Petro Poroshenko of Ukraine, together with President Giorgi Margvelashvili of Georgia,” Stoltenberg said in his report.
The NATO Secretary General emphasized that the Alliance continues its commitment to assist Ukraine’s security and defense sector reforms through the Comprehensive Assistance Package including ten trust funds.
“In 2018, the advisory effort of the NATO Representation to Ukraine focused on the development and implementation of the framework Law on National Security. Medical rehabilitation of wounded soldiers and support to Ukraine’s medical institutions, as well as NATO’s resettlement programme for former military personnel continued,” the report highlighted.
Stoltenberg also reaffirmed the Allies’ full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine due to the incident in the Kerch Strait in November, 2018.
“Allies called for calm and restraint and urged Russia to release the Ukrainian sailors and ships it had seized. Allies reiterated their full support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and territorial waters. They also committed to providing further political and practical support to Ukraine, ” Stoltenberg stated.