The foreign ministers participating in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization “NATO” meeting expressed their solidarity with Ukraine in the face of the Russian attack, and affirmed their union regarding sanctions against Russia.
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Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie said in a press statement prior to Thursday’s meeting.
Western countries are united in imposing sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian oligarchs who support him.
“We are allied about providing lethal weapons and various support to Ukraine,” she said.
She noted that the world has become more dangerous after February 24, adding: “Therefore, NATO must ensure support for our partners.”
For its part, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne stressed that Ukraine sought to respond in the most effective way to Russia in directing its attacks.
And announced that her country had imposed new sanctions on 67 Russians who supported Putin.
She stressed that Australia had provided military support to Ukraine, and said: “So far we have provided Ukraine with lethal and non-lethal military aid.
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We are working on providing armored vehicles at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and we will send them as soon as possible.”
She stressed that NATO allies are united on sanctions against Russia.
In turn, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto explained that positive opinions about his country’s accession to the alliance have increased, adding:
“There is a great consensus in the community regarding our joining NATO, and the government is almost preparing in this regard, and Parliament will start discussing it next week.”
In response to a question about the possibility of Russia launching an attack on Finland if it joined NATO, Haavisto stressed that his country is a member of the European Union.
And that the member states will act for Finland in the event of any attack on it in accordance with the agreements of the European Union.
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For her part, Swedish Foreign Minister Anne Linda stressed regarding her country’s accession to NATO that they are studying all options in order to protect the people of Sweden due to security concerns that began since February 24.
As for the Czech Foreign Minister, Jan Lebavsky, he stressed that the NATO allies are in agreement to protect Ukraine and ensure its stability, and that the Czech Republic has provided military and humanitarian support to kyiv in this context.
He revealed that the Czech government is preparing for the fifth package of sanctions against Russia.
On Wednesday, the meeting of NATO foreign ministers began in the Belgian capital, Brussels, and its work will continue on Thursday.
