NATO Secretary General confident in his approach to supporting Ukraine but hesitant about Kyiv's strongly promoted plan, cautious when discussing North Korea.

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

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. (Source: TASS)

According to Reuters , speaking to reporters on October 16, just ahead of the NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on October 17-18, Rutte revealed that member states have so far deployed half of the committed aid.

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

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

Just before this news, the US announced a new $425 million military aid package for Ukraine, including air defense capabilities, ground attack munitions, armored vehicles, and other critical ammunition.

Despite supporting Ukraine's efforts in the conflict with Russia, NATO remained cautious about the "Winning Plan" presented by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the same day.

According to Rutte, the plan is "a strong signal from Zelensky and his team... but that doesn't mean I can declare my full support for the plan; that would be somewhat difficult because there are many issues we need to understand better."

President Zelensky submitted his "Winning Plan" to parliament on October 16th, emphasizing that if the plan were implemented now, the war with Russia could end by next year at the latest.

According to the leader, this plan aims to strengthen the country and Ukraine's position "strong enough to end the conflict" without ceding any part of its territory or sovereignty .

In addition, the Ukrainian leader included in the plan the assertion that North Korea had effectively joined Moscow in the conflict in his country. President Zelensky even accused North Korean soldiers of fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.

Regarding this matter, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated that the military alliance could not confirm the information, but affirmed that it was very concerning.

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