NATO to Discuss Increasing Defense Spending, Supporting Ukraine in Vilnius in July
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – NATO will review a significant increase in defense spending and steps to continue its support for Ukraine at the next meeting to be held in Vilnius on July 11-12, 2023, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.
"I am pleased to announce that the next meeting of NATO Heads of State and Government will take place in Vilnius on 11-12 July 2023," he said, TASS reported.
According to Stoltenberg, the leaders of NATO member countries will consider steps to increase defense spending and to continue their support for Ukraine. "We face the most complex and unpredictable security environment since the Cold War.
"The meeting in Vilnius will be an opportunity for Allied Heads of State and Government to agree further steps to strengthen our deterrence and defense and review significant increases in defense spending, as well as to continue our support for Ukraine," he said in a statement.
"In an era of increasing strategic competition, the transatlantic bond between Europe and North America in NATO continues to be essential to the security of" the alliance’s "one billion citizens," Stoltenberg added.
NATO last convened a summit in late June. It was held in Madrid.
