NATO Foreign Ministers Discuss Upgrading NATO-Ukraine Commission To Council - Stoltenberg

NATO Foreign Ministers Discuss Upgrading NATO-Ukraine Commission to Council - Stoltenberg

Foreign ministers of NATO member states have held an informal meeting in Oslo, Norway, to discuss the process of bringing Ukraine closer to the alliance, including upgrading the NATO-Ukraine Commission to a NATO-Ukraine Council, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st June, 2023) Foreign ministers of NATO member states have held an informal meeting in Oslo, Norway, to discuss the process of bringing Ukraine closer to the alliance, including upgrading the NATO-Ukraine Commission to a NATO-Ukraine Council, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.

"Our focus today was on how we can bring Ukraine closer to NATO, where it belongs ... We also discussed upgrading the existing NATO-Ukraine Commission to a new NATO-Ukraine Council. This would be a significant step to establish a joint consultative forum with Ukraine, sitting at the table as equals to discuss key issues for our security," he told reporters.

Stoltenberg noted that all the allies believe that Ukraine's accession to NATO is realistic, although he dodged the question whether Kiev will receive an official invitation to join the organization at the top-level annual summit in July.

"We all agree that the most important thing now is to ensure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign and independent state," he said.

In late September 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Kiev was applying for a fast-track NATO membership. Stoltenberg, commenting on Zelenskyy's statement, reiterated the alliance's commitment to the right of each country to determine its own path and to NATO's "open door" policy, but stressed that the alliance would concentrate its efforts on assisting Ukraine to defend itself.