Stoltenberg points out that Ukraine's entry into NATO is "for the long term"

BRUSELAS, 28 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that Ukraine's entry into the Atlantic Alliance is "for the long term" and now the priority is to help the country "prevail" as a sovereign and independent nation against the invasion Russia ordered by Vladimir Putin a year ago.

"NATO allies agreed that Ukraine will become a member of our alliance, but at the same time that this is a long-term perspective," explained the NATO political chief in statements from Finland, where he met with the Finnish authorities to discuss their accession to the military alliance.

In this sense, Stoltenberg has recognized that the priority now is "to guarantee that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign and independent nation" in the context of the war launched by Moscow against the neighboring country. "Therefore, we must support Ukraine," he summed up.

"The important thing now is to support Ukraine, so no one can say exactly when this war will end, but when it ends, we must make sure that history does not repeat itself, that Putin cannot continue to attack the neighbors," the allied secretary general explained. , defending that the allies strengthen the military capacity of Ukraine and putting on the table the need to have "frameworks" that can "guarantee" that Russia does not invade Ukraine in the future.

On September 30, Ukraine requested "accelerated" entry into NATO, alleging that kyiv already has a very close relationship with the allies. The Ukrainian authorities took this step after Putin signed the annexation of four occupied regions in eastern Ukraine.

NATO has recognized since 2008 the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of Ukraine and Georgia, two countries with which it maintains a specific relationship and which it treats as future members of the alliance, although, given the military situation in both countries, the allies have not taken steps to advance its formal adhesion to the bloc.