KYIV. June 26 (Interfax) - NATO members have reaffirmed their readiness to provide assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and to review the possibility of supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine should the Minsk agreements continue being violated, Ukraine's Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said.
"At the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission, all member states of the alliance resolutely condemned violation by Russia of the Minsk agreements and confirmed that the issue of lethal arms supplies to Ukraine could be reviewed if the Minsk agreements continue to be further grossly violated by the aggressor state," Poltorak told reporters in Brussels on Thursday.
Poltorak said it was noted at the meeting that the Ukrainian Defense Ministry has reached significant progress in reforming itself and the army, a spokesperson for the defense ministry said. It was also stressed that the alliance and its members are determined to continue helping Ukraine to reform its armed forces.
The defense minister said that NATO members made a number of specific proposals on how to improve defense and security cooperation.
Poltorak also said that a three-way meeting Ukraine held with Poland and Lithuania focused on areas of further cooperation, in particular, the creation of a joint brigade. A timeframe was set for the signing by the countries of a technical agreement concerning the practical aspects of its functioning. It is expected the brigade will hold its first training session in 2016.
Poltorak expressed his satisfaction with the results of the meetings he was able to hold during his visit to the NATO headquarters.
He said, in particular, that British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon announced the intention to double aid for Ukraine to train its military personnel, i.e. from 3 million pounds to 6 million pounds. Fallon said that Britain will continue training Ukrainian troops, the number of British instructors will reach 100.