Minister Sklenár at NATO Defence Ministerial in Brussels: "We are witnessing new security challenges, yet the situation in Ukraine continues to be at the centre of our attention"
Ministry of Defence of The Slovak Republic
11.10.2023
Defence Minister Martin Sklenár today travelled to Brussels, where he has been taking part in a meeting of Allied Defence Ministers at NATO HQ. The so-called Defence Ministerial, which is due to last until Thursday, has begun with the first formal meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council (NUC) since its creation at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023. Ukraine was represented at the NUC meeting by Defence Minister Rustom Umerov. Also in Brussels, the 16th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (the so-called 'Ramstein format'), with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in attendance, was held ahead of the official start of the Defence Ministerial meeting.
During the discussion on Ukraine, Allied Defence Ministers focused on developing lines of support for Ukraine in the transformation process for its future NATO membership. They clearly expressed the necessity to continue with the steps agreed. "We are witnessing new security challenges - in our immediate neighbourhood and, most recently, in the Middle East. Yet, for understandable reasons, the situation in Ukraine continues to be at the centre of our attention," Defence Minister Sklenár stated, presenting Slovakia's continued assistance to Ukraine bilaterally and at Alliance level, which includes, for example, the Slovak defence industry's intensified production of artillery munitions as well as Slovakia's humanitarian demining efforts.
Allies along with their Ukrainian counterparts also discussed Ukraine's reform plans in the security sector, in the fight against corruption, and in the field of strengthening transparency, as well as other reforming measures conditioning Ukraine's future NATO membership.
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