BRUSSELS. Oct 1 (Interfax) - New NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has pledged to work on further support for Ukraine and implementing measures declared after the NATO summit in Washington in 2024.
"Supporting Ukraine is the right thing to do. And it is also an investment in our own security," Rutte said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Support for Ukraine is a NATO priority, he said.
Rutte added that he was optimistic about further NATO assistance to Kiev.
The NATO summit in Washington approved support for Kiev, including financial assistance, facilitation of military training, and eventual the invitation of Ukraine to join the alliance, Rutte said. As for Ukraine's possible NATO accession, he said it is hard to tell for now what may happen.
He also said that Kiev should decide when to begin peace negotiations.
Regarding the situation with hostilities in the Ukraine conflict zone, he said, "Clearly, it's not easy, it's difficult."