KYIV. July 10 (Interfax) - NATO supports any new initiative aimed at implementing the Minsk agreements, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
NATO actively supports the Minsk process and the Normandy format because they are the best formats for resolving the conflict in Ukraine, Stoltenberg said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in Kyiv on Monday.
NATO also welcomes new initiatives on the organization of new meetings and sessions and new efforts aimed at full implementation of the Minsk agreements, he said.
The economic sanctions imposed by the NATO countries against Russia are very important in this context, he said.
Stoltenberg said he believes these sanctions should continue as long as Russia shows unchanged behavior regarding the Minsk agreements and Crimea.
For his part Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Transatlantic and European solidarity is an important instrument aimed at causing Russia to resume negotiations.
"We should have an approved strategy for immediate introduction of the package of Minsk agreements, including ceasefire, withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territories and withdrawal of Russian multiple rocket launch systems, tanks and weapons. And for the process of hostage release and the work of the OSCE observation mission, including on the Ukrainian-Russian border, to begin," Poroshenko said.
He also said it is important that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) should continue its work in Donbas.
"We aren't perceiving Russia's attempts aimed at creating such conditions for the OSCE observer mission for it to leave the territory of Ukraine," Poroshenko said.
The work of the OSCE monitors is important in the context of providing objective and truthful information on the situation and it should take place 24 hours a day, he said.
"I am confident that our efforts and results achieved at the G20 summit, and also further negotiations in the Normandy format makes us cautiously optimistic about progress in the coming months," the president said.
He also suggested that NATO open a new trust fund to raise money to open new centers for psychological rehabilitation of war veterans.
"We have discussed the implementation of joint cooperation projects in the NATO trust funds for Ukraine, specifically, the possibility of their further financing and expansion of the areas of practical interaction between Ukraine and NATO using trust funds," Poroshenko said.
Specifically, the opening of a new trust fund for Ukraine was discussed, he said. "I suggested opening a new trust fund, which should promote the creation in Ukraine of a national chain of establishments for psychological rehabilitation of war veterans and their family members," the president said.