NATO chief meets EU defense ministers to discuss Ukraine issue, military mobility

Europe, News November 16, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg participated in a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union (EU) in defense format and discussed the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and the NATO alliance’s military mobility.

According to the NATO press release, Secretary General Stoltenberg and EU ministers discussed ways to further support Ukraine. Stoltenberg said that it was important not to underestimate Russia, noting that the country retained “significant capabilities and a high number of troops”.

Stoltenberg underscored the importance of providing more training to Ukrainian forces and said that “We need to continue to provide support to Ukraine for as long as it takes with capabilities but also with training.” A few days ago, the NATO secretary general also had a meeting with Ukrainian troops being trained in the United Kingdom.

The EU ministers and NATO secretary general also discussed the Alliance’s military mobility, which is an integral part of NATO-EU cooperation. NATO secretary general said welcomed the progress made in this regard and stressed the importance of involving non-EU Allies to the fullest extent possible.

The EU defense ministers and the NATO secretary general appreciated the bravery of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and welcomed the progress that Ukrainian forces have made over the last few days, particularly with the liberation of Kherson.

^{U.S., Romanian and British soldiers finish Bull Run II at the training area in Bemowo Piskie, Poland. The readiness exercise tested the speed of assembly, freedom of movement, and collective defense of the NATO battle group. (Image Credit: U.S. Army/Capt. John W. Strickland)}

Since NATO covers a vast territory, the alliance has been facing challenges with military mobility in Europe, especially after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In this regard, the NATO secretary general said that “It is extremely important that we replenish stocks and this is also something which we have addressed in the NATO format.” The issue was one of the main topics of discussion during the EU Defense Ministers meeting.

Stoltenberg said in a statement that “I welcome that NATO Allies have digged into their stocks of ammunition or weapons to provide support to Ukraine. But at the same time, when NATO Allies, EU members or non EU members, reduced the stocks, then we need to ensure that we replenish those stocks.”

“We have a defense planning process in NATO where we set targets for different types of weapons, different types of stocks of ammunition. And we will of course, ensure that Allies then replenish both to provide necessary defense and events and but also to be able to continue to provide support to Ukraine. I welcome initiatives by the European Union also to coordinate what European countries and also European NATO Allies do together,” Stoltenberg added.

*^{NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaking during a press conference ahead of the meetings of NATO Defence Ministers at NATO headquarters on October 12, 13, 2022. (Image Credit: NATO)}*

Before the meeting, the NATO secretary general said that “NATO-EU cooperation is as close as ever before and the fact that we have been able to lift the NATO-EU cooperation to unprecedented levels is especially important now, as we live in a more dangerous time as we see the ongoing war in Ukraine.”

At the end of this month EU foreign ministers meeting will be held in Bucharest, Romania, which will provide the EU and NATO allies with an opportunity to express strong support for Ukraine and discuss how to step up and sustain support for Ukraine. According to Stoltenberg, the meeting will also be an opportunity to take stock of the implementation of decisions made on strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defense.