He expects the meeting of foreign ministers in Bucharest to send the message that more needs to be done to provide air defense systems, the Norwegian said on Monday on the sidelines of a meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. This also applies to the supply of spare parts and ammunition, as well as the training of military personnel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to use winter as a weapon of war against Ukraine, Stoltenberg said, citing recent Russian missile and drone attacks on energy infrastructure. “We must help Ukraine defend itself against this terrible form of warfare.”
Stoltenberg had already made it clear on Friday that the supply of German Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine would not be taboo for him. If specialists are needed to operate these systems, Ukrainians can be trained in a NATO state. The decision whether or not to supply a system to Ukraine is a national one, Stoltenberg stressed when asked whether a patriot levy was a “no go.”
Germany had previously offered Poland Patriot-like air defense systems to secure Polish airspace. Warsaw then suggested moving directly to Ukraine.
The topic of the meeting of foreign ministers in Bucharest, which starts this Tuesday, is not only support for Ukraine, but also further relations with Russia. On the sidelines of talks with Stoltenberg, Romanian President Iohannis urged more NATO troops and weapons to be present in his country. “I want us to take action.” He hopes that at the next NATO summit in Vilnius “much braver decisions will be taken in this direction”.
(SDA)