NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg says Europe and the United States need each other

Europe and the United States need each other and are “stronger together,” the NATO chief said.

Jens Stoltenberg was speaking at a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the alliance.

While the United States provided security for Europe, he said it also needed the armies, intelligence and diplomatic influence of its European allies.

“I do not believe in America alone, just as I do not believe in Europe alone,” Stoltenberg said.

“I believe in America and Europe together in NATO, because we are stronger and safer together.”

The NATO Secretary-General's comments came as the alliance considers creating a five-year fund worth €100bn (£86bn) to provide long-term military support to Ukraine, so that aid to Kiev is not jeopardized by political changes either in the US or… Other NATO countries.

A US aid package worth $60 billion has stalled in Congress for months due to resistance from Republican lawmakers, as well as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who spoke of ending the war “in one day.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to the speech that relations between Russia and NATO had “slipped to the level of direct confrontation” because the alliance was already “involved” in the conflict over Ukraine.

Although NATO is a defensive alliance, Peskov said it was “designed, shaped, created and controlled by the United States as an instrument of confrontation” and has now become a “destabilizing element.”

The 32-member alliance agreed to begin planning to provide long-term military support to Ukraine.

Many countries supported this initiative only in theory. Hungary, which has maintained close relations with Russia, warned that it would not support “any NATO proposals that might bring the alliance closer to war or transform it from a defensive alliance into an offensive alliance.”

The Hungarian government has long sought to distance itself from international initiatives to finance Ukraine's war against Russia, and for a time blocked an EU plan to provide a €50bn (£43bn) aid package for Ukraine.

Stoltenberg acknowledged that the support framework had not yet been decided, but said NATO foreign ministers had agreed on the principle: “Make no mistake, Ukraine can count on NATO support now and in the long term.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters at NATO headquarters that he did not want to “spoil.” [Nato]On his birthday, his country needs help improving its air defenses – specifically Patriot missiles.

“Saving Ukrainian lives, saving the Ukrainian economy, and saving Ukrainian cities depend on the availability of Patriot missiles and other air defense systems,” Kuleba said.

Lacking air superiority and facing formidable Russian defences, Ukraine's ground counteroffensive stalled last year, and it now risks being outgunned on the front line in the east.

The US has given Ukraine more financial aid than any other NATO country – more than $44bn (£34bn) since the 2022 invasion, according to the White House in December. However, its aid is now caught up in a political dispute months before the presidential election.

Republican candidate Donald Trump has often criticized the level of spending. He has also long complained that the United States has shouldered a greater financial burden than the rest of the coalition.

Less than two-thirds of NATO members are on track to meet their 2% funding target.

Highlighting the importance of NATO's European allies to the United States, Stoltenberg pointed out that it was America's allies who came to its aid after the attacks of September 11, 2001. This was the only occasion on which a basic principle of the alliance was invoked, which is that an attack on an ally It is seen as an attack on everyone.

NATO allies closest to Russia have intensified their efforts to strengthen their armed forces.

Norway is working to increase the number of its conscripted soldiers, while Denmark says it intends to expand the scope of compulsory conscription to include women and increase the length of service. Recently, Latvia and Sweden resumed military service, while Lithuania reinstated it after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

Norway is working to increase the number of conscripted soldiers, while Denmark says it intends to expand the scope of compulsory conscription to include women and increase the length of service. Recently, Latvia and Sweden resumed military service, while Lithuania reinstated it after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.