NATO Secretary General highlights need for more support to Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg participated in a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Thursday (8 September 2022). The Secretary General underscored the need for more military aid to be sent to Ukraine to enable it to uphold its right to self-defence. He welcomed that NATO Allies continue to step up with more military, financial and humanitarian support for Ukraine.
The Secretary General met with the U.S. Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin III, and thanked him for hosting the meeting, and for the strong U.S. leadership and coordination. Mr. Stoltenberg also had discussions with German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht and Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov.
While at Ramstein, the Secretary General was welcomed to the headquarters of Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) by its commander, General James B. Hecker. Mr. Stoltenberg thanked NATO personnel for their important work in keeping the Alliance’s one billion people free and safe.
The Secretary General later participated in a secure video call hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden with participation from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Polish President Andrzej Duda, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. They were joined by representatives from France, the European Commission and European Council. The leaders discussed the results of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, focusing on the need to maintain support to Ukraine in the coming winter months.