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BRUSSELS: NATO is determined to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia for \u201cas long as it takes\u201d and will help the war-wracked country transform its armed forces into a modern army up to Western standards, the alliance\u2019s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg vowed on Friday.
\nSpeaking to reporters ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Romania next week, Stoltenberg urged countries that want to, either individually or in groups, to keep providing air defense systems and other weapons to Ukraine. NATO as an organization does not supply weapons.
\n\u201cNATO will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. We will not back down,\u201d the former Norwegian prime minister said. \u201cAllies are providing unprecedented military support, and I expect foreign ministers will also agree to step up non-lethal support.\u201d
\nStoltenberg said that members of the 30-nation security organization have been delivering fuel, generators, medical supplies, winter equipment and drone jamming devices, but that more will be needed as winter closes in, particularly as Russia attacks Ukraine\u2019s energy infrastructure.
\n\u201cAt our meeting in Bucharest, I will call for more,\u201d he said. \u201cOver the longer term we will help Ukraine transition from Soviet era equipment to modern NATO standards, doctrine and training.\u201d
\nStoltenberg said Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba would join the ministers to discuss his country\u2019s most pressing needs but also what kind of long-term support that NATO can provide. NATO\u2019s top civilian official said the support will help Ukraine move toward joining the alliance one day.
\nThe Nov 29-30 meeting in Bucharest is being held almost 15 years after NATO promised that Ukraine and Georgia would one day become members of the organization, a pledge that deeply angered Russia.
\nAlso attending the meeting will be the foreign ministers of Bosnia, Georgia and Moldova \u2013 three partners that NATO says are coming under increasing Russian pressure. Stoltenberg said the meeting would see NATO \u201ctake further steps to help them protect their independence, and strengthen their ability to defend themselves.\u201d
\nSince President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion 10 months ago, NATO has bolstered the defenses of allies neighboring Ukraine and Russia but has carefully sought to avoid being dragged into a wider war with a major nuclear power.
\nBut Stoltenberg put no pressure on Ukraine to enter peace talks with Russia, and indeed NATO and European diplomats have said that Putin does not appear willing to come to the table.
\n\u201cMost wars end with negotiations,\u201d he said. \u201cBut what happens at the negotiating table depends on what happens on the battlefield. Therefore, the best way to increase the chances for a peaceful solution is to support Ukraine.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BRUSSELS: NATO is determined to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia for \u201cas long as it takes\u201d and will help the war-wracked country transform its armed forces into a modern army up to Western standards, the alliance\u2019s Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg vowed on Friday. Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":183448,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10221280388112155_325455220908133":"","twitter_917774835383787521_917774835383787521":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183447"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183447"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183449,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183447\/revisions\/183449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}