Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) China’s growing allegiance to Russia was also addressed. Russia’s violence is not denounced by China. Russian rhetoric is echoed by it. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a press conference, at the end of the Foreign Ministerial meeting in Brussels.Â
Stoltenberg said we decided to get to work on creating a comprehensive, strategic aid plan for Ukraine. An unequivocal indication that our support will last the long run. to raise Ukraine’s level of interoperability with NATO and bring it up to the criteria set by the alliance. This will help Ukraine on its way to joining the Euro-Atlantic community. Because the Euro-Atlantic family is where Ukraine’s destiny lies.Â
NATO Foreign ministerial meeting, picture from NATO Website
Meeting with Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in the NATO-Ukraine Commission. We concur that it is crucial to maintain our armed assistance to Ukraine. The new promises offered by the Allies are appreciated. We also talked about our long-term assistance. NATO Secretary said on the 05 of April
He stressed: “When this war will conclude is unknown. We must make sure that President Putin is unable to keep undermining European security”. Therefore, we must make it possible for Ukraine to thwart and repel further attacks. This involves making plans for Ukraine’s security and bolstering its armed forces.
Furthermore, it helps Russia’s finances. Additionally, the Indo-Pacific region is seeing an increase in China and Russia’s joint military operations. Allies have made it abundantly clear that any supply of lethal assistance by China to Russia would be a historic error with far-reaching consequences. Mr. Stoltenberg added
It is more crucial than ever that we stick together at a moment when Beijing and Moscow are resisting the rules-based international order. In reality, the Allies have made great progress. Because all Allies have increased their defense expenditures since then. And this is important because, up until 2014, the majority of NATO Allies in Europe and Canada were actually cutting back on their annual defense expenditures. With the promise we made in 2014, we were able to turn the corner and stop moving down while actually beginning to go up. He saidÂ
According to NATO, Ukraine will join NATO, and this is still their official stance. However, we are aware that you must take care of at least two issues in order to achieve that. The first is that we must make sure Ukraine succeeds as a free, independent state. Naturally, any debate about Ukraine joining the Alliance must start from the premise that Ukraine is a democratic, independent country in Europe. And that is precisely what the brutal Russian invasion now poses a challenge to or danger to. Therefore, supporting Ukraine militarily is the first move and fundamental requirement. Therefore, President Putin’s campaign of aggression fails. He added
The second issue we must deal with is “how to guarantee that we have the highest degree of interoperability and that Ukraine can depart from the standards, doctrines, and methods of operation of the Soviet era when this war is over and it has won”. Although the shift has begun, more needs to be done before it can be considered complete. Because of this, the current assistance that NATO Allies are giving to Ukraine differs from previous assistance in that it focuses on meeting urgent needs.
Additionally, over the past few weeks and months, we have increased our support by providing armored vehicles, battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, and a lot of support, such as fuel trucks and heavy equipment to clear minefields and allow the Ukrainians to cross the defense barriers that the Russians have erected over the past month. Challenger was sent by the UK. He said
The US is currently delivering Abrahams, and numerous NATO allies have already given Leopard 2. This is on top of everything else, like the Bradleys and Marders, which are infantry fighting vehicles made by the US and the UK, respectively. It is this combination that gives the Ukrainians the capacity to retake lost territory and further drive back the Russian forces. The tactical choices of precisely when and how are to be made by the Ukrainians. We must assist them as part of our duty. Of course, allies are supplying military assistance and weaponry. In addition, NATO is offering a lot of non-lethal assistance. That is done to assist Ukraine right away by attending to its urgent needs. This initiative has a longer time horizon. It has to do with creating the organizations, assisting with the transition, interoperability, standards, doctrines, and other things that are necessary for us to have in place in order to advance toward membership. Added he
He also said Russia’s use of Belarus as a base for its aggressive activities against Ukraine has existed and continues to exist. They started the invasion in part from Belarus, where they also fired a number of airstrikes. Naturally, we’re telling Belarus to stay out of it and that we’ll keep giving Ukraine the support they need to fend off aggression and prevail in this conflict. Mr. Stoltenberg said
Is China a new threat?
We are aware that Russia is becoming more and more reliant on China. Russia now places even more importance on trade with China. at least as a result of the economic restrictions and the fallout from the Ukrainian conflict. Additionally, I think that their announcement that they will send tactical and nuclear weapons to Belarus shortly after signing a document saying the opposite proves that their promises are hollow. And what Russia is doing is what we need to pay careful attention to. And precisely that is what the NATO Allies are keeping a careful eye on. He said
NATO Secretary said: “I’ll probably keep my remarks to the fact that several Allies, including the largest Ally, have made it plain that there will be serious repercussions. I don’t believe there’s any need to go into details, but China is aware that there will be serious repercussions if they begin to give Russia lethal assistance”. Russian-Chinese air patrols, naval joint patrols, and a sizable military drill were all observed off the coast of Africa. And as a result of everything put together, we now find that our China policies need to be updated and refined. In the new Strategic Concept, that is represented. Additionally, it can be seen in the fact that we are currently substantially enhancing our alliance with Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and South Korea, as well as with our other Indo-Pacific partners. He added
Russia began a full-scale assault of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Despite substantial gains made by Russian forces in the early stages of the conflict, Ukrainian defenders resisted Russian efforts to annex Kyiv and other important cities and soon began launching counterattacks against Russian positions.
NATO Secretary also talked about China’s significant investment in cutting-edge technologies, such as long-range nuclear weapons, is evident. In Hong Kong, they are repressing democracy rights, prosecuting minorities, and using social media and the internet to conduct unprecedented-scale population surveillance. None of these things have ever been done before. In addition to posing difficulties for the nations in the area, the South China Sea’s assertive behavior also poses difficulties for global commerce. Taiwan is under threat. The reality that China is advancing toward us is a natural follow-up. We observe them in cyberspace, we observe them attempting to seize control of key infrastructure, and we also, of course, observe that they are now cooperating with Russia more closely.
Migration was a topic of conversation in this meeting, particularly when we talked about the problems coming from the Middle East and North Africa. And of course, what NATO does – and this is also something I’ve discussed with the Italian Foreign Minister with the Italian Prime Minister several times – is that we assist to support the efforts of individual Allies, as well as of the European Union. In order to aid in the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal on illegal immigration, there is a NATO naval presence in the Aegean Sea. Mr. Stoltenberg added
In the Middle East and North Africa, we collaborate with allies. In order to attempt to address the underlying causes, we are present in Iraq and are conducting a training operation there. Of course, addressing the underlying causes of the migrant challenges that Europe is confronting also requires a stable Iraq and a stable Middle East. Additionally, we are stepping up our assistance and collaboration with nations like Mauritania and Tunisia. Naturally, we are also sharing information after that. As NATO Allies, we support one another, but the migrant and refugee problem must obviously be handled using a variety of approaches. He said
U.S Secretary of Stated Antony J. Blinken in a press conference in Brussels said: The aggression of Russia against Ukraine is still the sole emphasis of the Alliance. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba attended the first NATO-Ukraine Commission meeting in five years to discuss how we can continue to support Ukraine in the coming days, weeks, months, and even years.
He attempted to bomb and freeze the civilian population of Ukraine into submission after suffering terrible defeats on the battlefield. His efforts to weaponize energy against Ukraine’s European allies were stepped up in an effort to convince them that the price of aiding the nation was too high. He also persisted in trying to drive up the cost of food and energy in some of the world’s poorest nations in an effort to create an artificial option between helping Ukraine and ensuring that his own people had enough to eat. Said U S Secretary of Stated
More than 50 nations have been offering security support. In response to Russia’s assault, dozens of nations stepped in to assist Ukraine in defending and restoring its electricity infrastructure. With unprecedented sanctions and export controls, we kept up the pressure on Russia and stepped it up, which is having a significant and increasing effect. The amount of money that the Kremlin can actually use is dwindling. Since last year, the amount of money it receives from oil and gas has been reduced in half. Companies have left the nation and aren’t returning, numbering in the hundreds or even more than a thousand. Young people, who are figuratively Russia’s future, number in the hundreds of thousands. He added
Mr. Blinken mentioned the 35th arm and equipment drawdown that the US declared yesterday. That includes additional HIMARS ammunition, rounds for artillery and air defense interceptors, antiarmor systems, small arms, heavy equipment transit vehicles, and repair assistance. With the help of these donations, Ukraine will be able to hold its land and retake it while also defending civilian infrastructure from missile and drone attacks.
Considering that NATO is a protective alliance, it has no desire to fight Russia. But because we want to ensure that nations consider twice, think three times, and then decide against acting aggressively, it is a defensive Alliance that needs to have a powerful deterrent. Finland is a part of the Alliance, which strengthens NATO’s ability to deter aggression and, in certain circumstances, defend itself. He saidÂ
About China, Mr. Bleinken said the “one China” policy, the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three Communiques, the Six Assurances, and our opposition to any unilateral changes in the status quo by either party have all served as the cornerstones of our own approach to Taiwan. This is a long way of saying that, given the circumstances, Beijing should not use the transits as justification for taking any steps that would escalate tensions or advance efforts to alter the status quo. And we still want to see stability and tranquillity along the Taiwan Strait, as well as to see that any conflicts between the mainland and Taiwan are settled amicably.
