IRIA News

NATO Defense Ministers met in Brussels to discuss the support for Ukraine and the Israel-Palestine war. The Allies discussed ways to strengthen deterrence and defense of the Alliance as well as NATO operations and missions in different regions.

Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy also visited NATO Headquarters to attend the U.S.-led Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting, alongside officials and representatives of more than 50 countries.

Zelenskyy urged the NATO allies to deliver more weapons and air defenses to Ukraine to fight through winter as the country gets ready for Russian attacks on power stations and other infrastructure.

“The winter air defense is a significant part of the answer to the question of when this war will end and whether it will end justly for Ukraine. We must win the winter battle against terror and we can win it,” Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president also made comparisons between Russian President Putin and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. He said, “Terrorists like Putin or like Hamas seek to hold free and democratic nations as hostages and they want power.”

During the meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told Ukrainian President Zelenskyy that “your fight is our fight, your security is our security, and your values are our values. And we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

Stoltenberg further highlighted that “we will further strengthen our relationship and help Ukraine move towards NATO membership.”

Zelenskyy also claimed that Russia has “enough resources to incite conflicts and turn them into full-scale tragedies and this is happening in Sahel. And it can happen even more painfully in Israel and in the Middle East.” However, Russia denied the claims and said it had no intention to inflame the situation in the Middle East.

During the summit, the NATO Defense Ministers also conducted meetings with their Ukrainian counterpart Minister Umerov in the NATO-Ukraine Council and discussed the ongoing situation in Ukraine as well as reaffirmed NATO’s continued support for Kyiv.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reassured allies that the United States would continue to support Ukraine and help Israel tackle the Hamas attacks. The U.S. Defense chief Austin and newly appointed military officer Air Force General Charles Q. Brown seek to reassure allies that the U.S. will continue its military support for Ukraine despite Congress’ objection.

Ukraine has the great strategic advantage of a just cause. And the Allies and partners that gather in Brussels today have one message: we’ve got your back. Our support for Ukraine will not waver. @SecDef Austin welcomes president of Ukraine @ZelenskyyUa to the Ukraine Defense… pic.twitter.com/CbPxVP1ZBi

— U.S. Mission to NATO (@USNATO) October 11, 2023

On the sidelines of the meetings, the defense ministers from ten NATO member states signed an agreement to build the legal framework for any future air defense purchases under the Sky Shield Initiative.

On October 12, 2023, the defense officials of the Alliance discussed the deterrence and defense of NATO. According to the NATO statement released a day earlier, “Ministers will take stock of the work underway to resource and exercise the robust defense plans that Allied leaders agreed on at the Vilnius Summit.”

The NATO statement further highlighted that defense officials will also address “NATO’s missions and operations, including in Kosovo and in Iraq, and discuss the recent damage to undersea infrastructure between Estonia and Finland.”

While addressing the incident, Secretary General Stoltenberg said, “The important thing now is to establish what happened and how this could happen. If it is proven to be a deliberate attack on NATO critical infrastructure, then this will be of course serious, but it will also be met by a united and determined response from NATO.”

The NATO statement added that “Defense Ministers will also discuss the situation in the Middle East in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks by Hamas against NATO partner Israel.” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also joined the meeting virtually and briefed NATO Allies on Israel’s response to attacks.

NATO Security Policy Directors meet in Romania

On October 9-10, 2023, high-level officials responsible for developing the security policy of the NATO member states met in Romania to address current security challenges ahead of a key meeting between the NATO defense ministers.

The meeting was chaired by the NATO Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Security Policy Boris Ruge. The representatives of all the NATO member states as well as the invited participants from Sweden and the European Union addressed the ongoing security situation in Europe against the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

The security policy of the Black Sea and foreign interference in the European security environment also remained the topic of discussion during the meeting. The National Security Policy Directors also visited key air and naval force facilities in Romania helping to strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defense activities on its eastern flank.

“I think that Romania played an important role in supporting Ukraine. Many nations have not made public everything they do. So, I may not be aware of everything that Romania has done, but I think I can say that what it did was very important. From what I know, what Romania has done is significant,” Ruge said during an interview at the sidelines of the meeting.

During the meeting, the security directors of NATO member states reaffirmed their support for Ukraine and its fight against Russian invasion. The security policy of NATO member states has shown a slight shift in recent times due to the shift in political narrative and the economic crisis that has engulfed most of the NATO member states.

The meeting between the Security Policy Directors set the tone for the summit that would address the ongoing situation in Ukraine as well as the recent attacks on Israel by the Hamas militant group. Israel has been a long-time NATO partner; it would only be natural for the Alliance to set priorities in support of Tel Aviv for its fight against the Gaza-based militant group. With the White House and other European nations pledging their support for the State of Israel, Kyiv is worried that the rising conflict in the Middle East would undermine its efforts against Russian invasion.

NATO officials and representatives of member countries addressed Kyiv’s concerns and reaffirmed that their support for Israel would not affect their effort to support Ukraine. “There is no sign of war fatigue when it comes to supporting Kyiv” NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana cleared the speculations in a statement.