On the ground, we don't see any sign and that's the reason why we also call on Russia to engage in these talks in good faith. And it's not for me to report from these talks, NATO are not part of those talks. These are talks between Ukraine and Russia. But I'll just see in the reports coming out from those talks, I think it's very important not to speculate and not to pre-judge or to pre-empt any outcome of these talks.
But my message was in a way that it is obvious that what Ukraine can achieve around the negotiating table is very closely linked to the situation on the battleground. And therefore the support we give to them to stand up against and to resist the Russian invasion also helps them to achieve an acceptable outcome in the negotiations.
Secretary General: NATO is responding to this crisis with speed and unity.
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NATO defence ministers met on Wednesday (16 March 2022) to address the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including Allies’ support for Ukraine and measures to strengthen NATO’s collective defence for longer-term security.
Ministers were first joined by NATO partners Finland, Sweden, Georgia and the European Union, and received a briefing from Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov on the situation in Ukraine. “We all paid tribute to the courage of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian armed forces,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Ministers agreed that NATO’s support to Ukraine must continue, including with military supplies, financial help and humanitarian aid. “NATO is responding to this crisis with speed and unity,” said the Secretary General, adding that NATO leaders will meet next week for an extraordinary NATO Summit.
Ministers also addressed measures to reinforce NATO’s collective security for the longer term. “We must reset our collective defence and deterrence for the longer term; today we tasked our military commanders to develop options across all domains,” said Mr. Stoltenberg. He noted that this could include substantially more forces in the eastern part of the Alliance, more Allied air power and significant numbers of combat ships.
The Secretary General stressed that such major increases to NATO’s collective deterrence and defence would require major investments. He welcomed Allied announcements on more investments and reiterated that Allies need to invest a minimum of 2% of GDP on defence.
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