NATO Secretary General Confident in Support of Ukraine, but Hesitant About Kiev's Strong Plan, Cautious in Mentioning North Korea

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said member states are “firmly on track” to deliver on their pledge of 40 billion euros ($43.53 billion) in military aid to Ukraine this year.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. (Source: TASS)

According to Reuters news agency, speaking to the press on October 16, right before the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels (Belgium) on October 17-18, Mr. Rutte revealed that, to date, member countries have deployed half of the pledged aid.

The new NATO Secretary General stated: “Today, I can announce that NATO allies have deployed a 20.9 billion euro military aid package for Ukraine for the first half of 2024 and allies are on track to deliver on their commitments for the rest of the year.”

Mr Rutte also said that NATO's new mission on Ukraine, based in the German city of Wiesbaden, would be "fully operational" in the next few months.

Just before the above information, the US just announced a new military aid package worth 425 million USD for Ukraine, including air defense capabilities, ground attack ammunition, armored vehicles and other important ammunition.

Despite supporting Ukraine's efforts in the conflict with Russia, NATO remains cautious about the “Victory Plan” presented by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy on the same day.

According to Mr. Rutte, the above plan is "a strong signal from Mr. Zelensky and his team... but that does not mean I can declare support for the entire plan, that action will be a bit difficult because there are many issues that we have to understand better."

President Zelensky submitted the "Victory Plan" to parliament on October 16 and stressed that if the plan was implemented now, the war with Russia could end by next year at the latest.

According to the leader, the plan is to strengthen the country and Ukraine's position "strong enough to end the conflict" without giving up any part of the territory or sovereignty of this Eastern European country.

In addition, the head of Ukraine also included in the plan the assessment that North Korea has actually joined Moscow in the conflict in his country. President Zelensky even accused that there are North Korean soldiers fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.

Regarding this issue, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that the military alliance could not confirm the above information, but affirmed that this information was very worrying.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tong-thu-ky-nato-tu-tin-voi-con-duong-ho-tro-ukraine-nhung-lai-chun-chan-truoc-ke-ho-hoach-ma-kiev-ho-hao-manh-me-than-trong-khi-de-cap-trieu-tien-290362.html