Arriving at Oslo City Hall to chair a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers on Thursday (1 June 2023), Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Allies would discuss preparations for the Vilnius Summit, not least “how to step up and sustain our support for Ukraine”.
Mr Stoltenberg noted that all Allies agree that Ukraine will become a member of the Alliance, and that “it’s not for Moscow to have a veto against NATO enlargement.” He added: “most importantly, all Allies agree that the most urgent and important task now is to ensure that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation.” He further said: “we need to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself, that this pattern of Russian aggression against Ukraine really stops. And therefore, we need to have in place frameworks to provide guarantees for Ukrainian security after the end of the war”.
In Oslo, Allies will also discuss bolstering deterrence and defence, building on NATO’s major adaptation since 2014. This also requires increased defence spending. The Secretary General said he expects that when Allied leaders meet in Vilnius, 2% of GDP for defence will become a floor, rather than a ceiling, for Allies’ obligations. Allies will also address how to further deepen NATO’s partnership with Indo-Pacific partners (Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea) and reiterate their strong support for Sweden’s accession to NATO. “I will also travel to Ankara in the near future to continue to address how we can ensure the fastest possible accession of Sweden,” said Mr Stoltenberg.
