Although NATO enlargement will not take place soon countries aspiring to join the military alliance should see more co-operation from current member states, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has stated, according to Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform.
The Norwegian diplomat and politician delivered a speech at the Georgetown University in Washington on Tuesday, October 5. «So therefore, my message to NATO Allies, and also something I discussed actually yesterday with President Biden, is that we need to step up and do more for those aspirant countries,» Stoltenberg urged.
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The NATO Secretary-General outlined that member states should provide more support, more training, more capacity building, help to implement reforms, fight corruption and build the security and defence institutions.
On the issue of potential NATO enlargement, including the accession of Ukraine and Georgia, Stoltenberg said that it was obvious that «it won’t happen tomorrow.» However, he criticized the position, including by some Western politicians, that this allegedly irritates Russia was actually a violation of the sovereignty of aspiring countries, Ukrinform reports.
NATO members should co-operate more with aspiring states, says Stoltenberg
