MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2023) Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Monday that a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group would be held on July 18 at the Ramstein base in Germany.
"For each type of foreign weapon that has been at the front for a long time, at first I heard 'No, this (delivery of these weapons to Kiev) will not happen, this is impossible.' In fact, it is possible, but in due time and in the case of our perseverance. On July 18, we will continue to do the impossible at the next meeting in the 'Rammstein' format," Reznikov wrote in his column for Ukrainian media outlet Liga.net.
Reznikov added that he was pleased with the results of the NATO summit in Vilnius, which indicated the actual beginning of "the transit period for Ukraine's accession to the alliance."
In recent months, NATO countries and their allies have held several meetings of the contact group at the Ramstein air base to provide weapons and military equipment to Ukraine.
As a result of the NATO summit that took place in Vilnius from July 11-12, NATO leaders agreed on a package of three elements to bring Ukraine closer to the alliance. The first element includes creating an assistance program for Ukraine that will make transition to NATO standards training and doctrines possible. The second element is the establishment of the NATO-Ukraine Council, and the third one involves the cancellation of the membership action plan for Ukraine, which will allow to shorten Kiev's accession process from two steps to one step. At the same time, no official invitation was extended by the bloc to Kiev.
Ukraine applied for accelerated NATO membership in September 2022 following the start of the Russian military operation. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has on numerous occasions said that the military alliance is supportive of Kiev's aspirations but is not ready to approve its application right away.
