NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made a surprise visit to Kyiv, held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and also issued a press conference. What do we need to emphasize with you? What issues have been discussed between the two sides, and I will sort them out with you here.
Zelensky spoke in a speech in which he pointed out that Ukraine will join NATO, without which the security of Europe would be unimaginable, stressing that Ukraine is an "outpost" of NATO. At the same time, Zelensky stressed that we are already working one-on-one with NATO countries, and with the help that we expect from our partners, mainly the United States, the Russian army is trying to make trouble and prepare for offensive operations, so Ukraine and NATO will work together to thwart Russia's plans.
Zelensky also said that the Ukrainian army has acted in accordance with NATO standards, used NATO weapons, and guided the Ukrainian army's operations with NATO principles and doctrines. And Zelensky also stressed that Ukraine should be invited by NATO, that is, Ukraine should join NATO, and you should give Ukraine this opportunity.
He said that when NATO member states need to provide military assistance to Kyiv and make a choice between self-equipment, they should choose Ukraine, that is, they should not consider providing weapons and equipment to themselves, but should give priority to providing military equipment to Ukraine. Stoltenberg stressed that NATO countries should give priority to the transfer of weapons to Ukraine, and when the time comes, Ukraine will become a member of NATO.
What does it mean that the time is ripe?
Stoltenberg expects that the NATO leaders' summit in Washington this summer will not reach an agreement on Ukraine's accession to NATO, but sooner or later Ukraine will join NATO. Later, he stressed that Ukraine is on the irreversible path to NATO membership, hoping to prove that this day will eventually come. What day will it be? No one knows, at least during Stoltenberg's tenure.
Stoltenberg's promise to provide Ukraine with air defense systems and ammunition is indeed not enough, and a lot is needed, and if Putin wins this war, NATO will have to spend more money to meet the challenge from Russia, which is a big truth.
So you can see that when Stoltenberg and Zelensky were talking, there were some problems that each side said their own words, and it was difficult for the two sides to reach a general consensus, and as Stoltenberg, he really wanted to provide more military aid to Ukraine, but he still had to act according to the eyes of the United States, which is also an indisputable fact.