NATO Defense Ministers meet to lay grounds for the upcoming Madrid Summit

Europe, News, US June 18, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

As a run-up to the upcoming NATO leaders’ summit in Madrid, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hosted a Defense Ministers Summit in Brussels on June 15, 2022.

The summit was focused on discussing the topics related to the NATO leaders’ summit that would be held in Madrid on June 29-30. While speaking at the press conference after the summit, Stoltenberg said that NATO defense ministers have made a progress in preparing the topics of discussion for the much-anticipated leaders’ summit that is to be held later this month.

Stoltenberg further added that the “Madrid summit will be transformative” for NATO as an alliance, as important decisions in the key areas would be made during the two-day summit, including NATO’s role in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war as well as Finland and Sweden’s historic applications for membership.

At the summit in Brussels, the Defense Ministers from NATO countries met with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov to discuss Ukraine’s need for weapons and support. Stoltenberg said that “Allies have announced additional assistance, including much needed heavy weapons and long-range systems.”

He also highlighted that NATO is now preparing a comprehensive package for Ukraine in order to improve its interoperability with NATO and to help Ukrainian forces transition from the Soviet-era equipment to modern NATO equipment.

Jens Stoltenberg stressed that ministers had also discussed the importance of resourcing. He recalled that there had been seven consecutive years of rising defense investment across European allies and Canada and that allies have continued to contribute to NATO deployments, and invest more in high-end capabilities. “Now is the time to keep up the momentum. So we can continue to preserve peace, prevent conflict, and protect our people,” Stoltenberg added.

Defense Ministers from all 30 NATO member states joined the summit including the U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin. While speaking at the summit, Austin stated that “this alliance has met the challenge with determination, with resolve and, above all, with unity. Together, we have responded swiftly and decisively to Russia’s baseless, lawless and reckless invasion of Ukraine.”

*^{Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at NATO Headquarters on June 16, 2022. (Image Credit: NATO)}*

The U.S. has recently announced to send an additional military aid of at least $1 billion to Ukraine in order to equip Ukrainian forces with long-range weapons systems. The latest military aid package includes anti-ship missile launchers, howitzers, and more rounds for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).

The U.S. forces are also training Ukrainian troops on how to use the long-range weapons systems. Ukrainian leaders have urgently requested more long-range defense weapons systems, as they battle to stall Russia’s slow but steady march to conquer the eastern Donbas region.