NATO chief vows continued military backing for Ukraine despite resistance from 3 members
NATO will continue to provide military aid to Ukraine, despite the position of Hungary, Slovakia and the Netherlands, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a conversation with journalists, Political Lore quotes him.
The rhetoric of Slovakia, Hungary and the Netherlands will not affect further assistance to Ukraine.
"NATO members provide advanced missiles, air defense systems, modern battle tanks – these are all examples of significant modern assistance <…> Help is being provided to Ukraine , because it is in our security interests. I am confident that NATO allies will continue to provide substantial and meaningful support to Ukraine" said the NATO chief.
The Alliance recently announced its intention to transfer additional air defense systems to Ukraine, and also continues to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
"There is also a constant flow of ammunition and weapons into Ukraine. Of course, there is an urgent need for large volumes of assistance, but the allies are demonstrating not only in words, but also in deeds that they will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine," Stoltenberg said.
On November 23, the right-wing populist Party for Freedom of Geert Wilders, whose program includes a referendum on leaving the EU, scored the largest number of votes in the parliamentary elections in the Netherlands and will preliminarily receive 37 of the 150 parliamentary mandates. Wilders has repeatedly stated that Amsterdam should stop transferring weapons to Ukraine, as the country itself needs these weapons for self-defense.
On October 25, the President of Slovakia Zuzana Čaputova officially approved the country's new government headed by Robert Fico. On November 8, Fico blocked the previous Cabinet's proposal to provide military aid to Ukraine for 40.3 million euros.
Hungary once again blocked the payment of 500 million euros in military aid to Ukraine.
