US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Wednesday, that NATO will unveil an “incredibly robust” package to aid Ukraine in the next couple of days as a “bridge” to facilitate Kyiv’s membership in the alliance.
“We have an incredibly robust package that will be unveiled by NATO in the next two days, which will build a clear, strong, well-lit bridge to NATO membership for Ukraine,” Blinken said at the 2024 NATO Public Forum, held on the sidelines of the second day of the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington.
“The success of Ukraine lies in having a strong, independent Ukraine increasingly integrated with Euro-Atlantic institutions like the European Union and NATO, capable of standing on its own militarily, economically, and democratically.” The US top diplomat pointed to the establishment of a “Ukraine Command” which NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced on Sunday during a roundtable in Washington.
The Command, based in Germany will comprise 700 personnel led by a NATO general and will manage mos
t international support for Ukraine, currently handled by the 50-member Ukraine Defense contact group, the command will also oversee training and logistics support for Ukraine, he said.
Blinken emphasized his belief that forming this command will “accelerate Ukraine’s accession to the alliance” Noting that alongside the military pathway in the bridge to Ukraine’s NATO membership, Allies are focusing on deepening democracy economically and politically.
Earlier, the United States, the Netherlands, and Denmark announced in a joint statement that they are working on transferring U.S made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, with support from Washington, to be operational this summer.
NATO consists of 32 member states including the new members Finland and Sweden.
Source: Kuwait News Agency