NATO chief vows to provide aid to Ukraine; comments on Finland & Sweden's membership bid

Amid brutal Russia-Ukraine war, Secretary-General of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg stated that NATO has taken decisions by consensus, and all NATO partners should have to agree to Sweden and Finland's Alliance membership proposal. He also emphasised that  alliance is dedicated to supplying weapons to Ukraine to help it fight inving Russian forces.

On June 16, talking about Finland and Sweden's NATO membership bid, Stoltenberg said that he cannot provide a specific date for when two Baltic nations would be legally mitted into Alliance as NATO has been waiting to resolve Turkey's genuine concerns about terrorism and arms supply to extremist elements like PKK, as per media reports.  

Furr, it is pertinent to mention that after deces of military non-alignment, both countries applied to join NATO earlier, last month. circumstances altered dramatically when Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, as per Sweden's Prime Minister. Notably, last week, NATO chief Stoltenberg accepted Sweden's and Finland's membership applications, despite worries that Russia was planning to threaten Nordic nations.

Turkey, which h previously warned to impede Sweden and Finland's intentions, however, stymied US-backed military alliance's initial phase. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked Turkey's NATO partners to recognise and support Ankara's security concerns. He stated, "We see that re is no such attitude towards us." 

NATO promises military aid to Ukraine

Apart from this, NATO chief stated that alliance is dedicated to supplying armaments to war-torn Ukraine which are necessary to protect country's right to self-defense against Russian military aggression. NATO's top official denounced Russia's constant "war of attrition" on Ukraine while stating that NATO continues to provide unprecedented assistance so that Ukraine can defend itself against Russia. 

On Wednesday, Stoltenberg urged countries to give ditional weaponry and soldiers to Ukraine in order to thwart Russia's plan to annex Donbas. He stated that Ukraine has alrey received billions of dollars in military equipment, as well as financial and humanitarian help from its allies and partners. He did mit, though, that Ukraine requires a large number of dely and long-range weaponry to prevent Russia's assault. 

'Finland and Sweden joining NATO would not improve security in Europe': Russia

Meanwhile, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Finland and Sweden joining NATO would not improve security in Europe, but would inste cause "ditional tension."

"We are sure that membership of Finland and Sweden in NATO won’t bring any ditional benefits to security of European continent. On or hand, it will bring ditional tension," Peskov said, during an interview with CNN. 

Even Russian President Vlimir Putin h warned earlier, during a conference of Collective Security Treaty Organization in Moscow that if NATO extended to Finland and Sweden, Russia would retaliate. participation of Finland and Sweden in NATO, however, does not constitute an imminent threat to Russia, according to Kremlin. 

(Image: AP/@SannaMarin/Instagram)