Stoltenberg says that Ukraine "one day will be a member of NATO" but now the priority is war

BRUSELAS, 18 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, assured on Tuesday that Ukraine has the doors open to the military organization, but has stressed that now the focus of the allies is to maintain the supply of weapons to kyiv to win the war against Russia.

"NATO's door is still open and one day Ukraine will be a member of the alliance. But in the short term the priority is to support Ukraine to enable them to make further advances on the battlefield and to ensure that it ends the war in a way that guarantees that Ukraine remains a sovereign nation," the former Norwegian prime minister said in an interview at the Berlin forum organized by the Körber Foundation.

"This is the precondition for any discussion about its accession," the NATO political chief has deepened, who when asked about the situation in Finland and Sweden has pointed out the existing differences with kyiv.

Helsinki and Stockholm were already close NATO partners and participated in missions and political dialogue with the rest of the allies, he indicated, while in the case of Ukraine the country is in the middle of a war and "the priority is to send military support" .

Thus, Stoltenberg has insisted that NATO's military support for Ukraine is unprecedented and is key to facilitating Ukrainian progress on the ground. "Without the help of the allies, he would not have made these advances and repelled the Russian troops," he recalled.