Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country would request a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council to discuss issues related to further military assistance to Kiev.
“Ukraine will request a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council to discuss the protection of the skies, the provision of air defense combat equipment, relevant systems and missiles,” Zelensky said on April 16.
“We work every day without stopping for our greater opportunities in the world – in our relations with our partners. We work for more real help,” the Ukrainian leader said in a nightly video address that he has made regularly since Russia launched a special military operation in his country.
“True equality in defense… is our goal, so that the same standards apply to all of us – in Ukraine, across Europe and the world – against the same actions and the same threats from missiles and drones,” Mr. Zelensky said, referring to Iran’s recent attack on Israel.
“Over the past two days, we have heard all sorts of stories. About different conflicts – in Europe and the Middle East – different levels of threat, different airspace… But are human lives different, are human values different? No, not at all,” the Ukrainian president added.
Ukrainian soldiers on the front line near the Chasiv Yar flashpoint, Donetsk region, amid conflict with Russia, April 2024. Photo: The Guardian
According to NATO's website, the NATO-Ukraine Council was launched at the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius as part of a three-part support package to bring Ukraine closer to NATO.
The package also includes a multi-year assistance program to help Ukraine's armed forces achieve full interoperability with allied forces and reaffirms that Ukraine will become a NATO member when the alliance's members agree and when Ukraine meets its conditions.
The Allies and Ukraine meet as equal participants in the Council. The Council may convene at the level of Heads of State and Heads of Government, Foreign Ministers and Defense Ministers, or Ambassadors.
The Council is chaired and convened by the NATO Secretary General. It can also be convened by Council members to consult on crises, including Ukraine.
The inaugural meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council took place on July 12 last year at the NATO Summit in Vilnius (Lithuania) .
Minh Duc (According to Anadolu, NATO website, New Voice of Ukraine)
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