The foreign ministers of the NATO countries will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday in Brussels.
Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte held a press conference before the start of the meeting, where he commented on the main topics of the meeting.
Ukraine, which is participating in the meeting, has expressed its desire to join NATO and hopes for a quick membership invitation from the alliance.
Foreign Minister of Ukraine participating in the NATO meeting Andrii SybihaAccording to
On Tuesday, Rutte did not directly answer the question about inviting Ukraine to become a member of NATO.
He stated that Ukraine is on an “irreversible path”, i.e. on the way to NATO membership, and the matter is progressing “step by step”, as agreed at last summer’s NATO summit in Washington.
NATO’s Secretary General emphasized bilateral security agreements with member countries as Ukraine’s security.
According to Rutte, the most important thing now is to support Ukraine, so that the country can participate in possible peace negotiations from a strong position.
“Ukraine needs additional support from the allied countries of the defense alliance,” Rutte said at the press conference he held before the meeting of foreign ministers.
“We all need to do more. The more we support Ukraine, the stronger its position is at the negotiating table,” Rutte continued.
NATO’s Secretary General also commented on sabotage and attacks against allied countries.
“In recent years, Russia and China have tried to destabilize and scare us with sabotage attacks and cyber attacks,” Rutte said.
He said that the member countries intend to protect critical infrastructure better than before and to enhance the exchange of information.
According to Rutte, this theme will be discussed at the NATO foreign ministers’ meeting on Wednesday.
A message to Trump
In his pre-meeting press conference, the NATO Secretary General revealed three things he had talked about with the incoming US president For Donald Trump at their meeting in late November.
According to Rutte, the first topic was increasing European defense spending, which Trump has been demanding for a long time.
Another thing was the strengthening of the Western defense industry, especially because China and Russia are increasing their own production.
Regarding Ukraine, Rutte had emphasized to Trump that a bad agreement should not be made.
According to Rutte, the United States faces a serious threat from China, Iran and North Korea if Ukraine is forced into a bad peace agreement with Russia.