The alliance recognizes Kiev's desire for an alliance, but its military support should be a priority.BUCHAREST, November 29.
/tass/. NATO is currently discussing the transfer of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine. This was stated on Tuesday by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference following the results of the first day of the meeting of the foreign ministers of the alliance countries.
"There is currently a discussion regarding the provision of Patriot. It is important that the air defense systems that we provide function correctly," he said.
According to Stoltenberg, if NATO had not provided Kiev with modern air defenses, the consequences of strikes on the energy infrastructure would have been even worse. "Without the supply of modern NATO air defenses that shoot down missiles and drones, the consequences of Russian strikes on the energy structure of Ukraine would have become even more terrible," he said.
Aspiration to NATO
NATO recognizes Ukraine's desire to join the alliance, but the main priority now should be military support for Kiev. This was stated on Tuesday by the Secretary General of the alliance Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference following the first day of the meeting of the foreign ministers of the member countries of the organization.
"We are discussing how to strengthen our partnership with Ukraine and help the country move towards NATO membership. We have confirmed our decision from 2008. We have shown that our doors are open by inviting Sweden and Finland, Northern Macedonia and Montenegro. But the main focus now is to provide urgent assistance to Ukraine so that it can protect itself and repair the energy infrastructure," he said.
NATO considers permanent arms supplies to Kiev to be the only way to peace in Ukraine, as they intend to prevent Russia's victory, Stoltenberg said.
"Paradoxically, the only way to long-term peace in Ukraine is to continue military supplies," Stoltenberg said. For NATO, "long-term peace in Ukraine is possible only if Russia does not achieve victory."
The North Atlantic Alliance activated defense plans on the day Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, providing its command with additional opportunities for the transfer of forces, the Secretary General said.
According to him, NATO was "ready" for the start of the special operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine and "activated defense plans" in the morning of the same day. "This means that the commander-in-chief of NATO forces has received more authority to move forces, as well as sea, land and air assets to those regions [of the alliance] where they are needed," Stoltenberg said.
He also stressed that the alliance has already significantly strengthened its military presence on the eastern flank and now has at its disposal "several hundred thousand combat-ready forces."
Last week, German Defense Minister Kristine Lambrecht told the Rheinische Post that Germany was offering Poland security support, including with Patriot batteries. Her Polish colleague Mariusz Blaszczak then wrote on Twitter that Warsaw had given a positive response. Then he offered to transfer the systems to Ukraine and place them on the western border of that country.
After that, Der Spiegel magazine reported that the German Defense Minister rejected Warsaw's counteroffer. She recalled that the German authorities are not going to send weapons to Kiev without close consultations with partners. Such decisions can only be made collectively, it was noted in Berlin.
On November 15, a rocket fell in the village of Przevodow (Lublin Voivodeship), located in eastern Poland on the border with Ukraine, killing two people. Polish President Andrzej Duda said that, according to the assessment of the authorities of the republic, the ammunition belonged to the Ukrainian air defense forces. In Warsaw, the incident is considered an accident. The US State Department said that the US administration is fully confident in the accuracy of the conclusions of the Polish authorities. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the missile was fired from the S-300 air defense system of Ukraine.
