NATO-Ukraine Council convenes to advance Vilnius Summit decisions

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - The NATO-Ukraine Council met on Wednesday to reaffirm the alliance's enduring support for Ukraine and advance the agreements made at the summit this July in Vilnius, Lithuania.

The meeting was chaired by NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana, with the participation of Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna, the alliance said in a statement.

Underlining that Ukraine's security has "great importance" in the alliance, the statement said that Geoana "commended allies and Ukraine’s efforts to quickly implement decisions from the Vilnius Summit."

"Allies continue to provide substantial assistance to Ukraine, including through NATO’s Comprehensive Assistance package, and are taking forward important work to ensure Ukraine’s forces are fully interoperable with NATO," it said. "All of this means that Ukraine is closer to NATO than ever before."

Today's gathering marked the third meeting of the council since its first meeting at the Vilnius summit in July with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukraine has openly stated its desire to join the NATO alliance, something Russia said it hoped to prevent by launching a war against its neighbor in February 2022.

While not offering to admit Ukraine to the alliance, NATO has strengthened ties with Kyiv since the war began.