The deputy boss of NATO: We will continue to build a bridge for Ukraine to join us

Deputy Secretary General NATO Mircea Geoana welcomed Ukraine's readiness to join NATO and said NATO's “dere remains open” and “no violence or intimidation can stop it”.

These comments, Geoana made, speaking at the NATO Open Doors Conference in Helsinki on Wednesday (April 10th 2024).

To mark their 20th anniversary of NATO membership, the embassies of Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia organised the event.

In his virtual speech, Geoana said he could not think of a better organiser than Finland to talk about NATO's open door policy. “S, along with our newest member Sweden, you have shown the world what freedom” means, he said, and added that President Putin has failed in his attempt to crack down on the NATO door”.

Deputy Secretary General stressed that Ukraine, like the others before it in Central and Eastern Europe and Baltic, has chosen the path of NATO and NATO membership, will continue to build a bridge for Ukraine to join our large Alliance”, as plans are under way for the Washington Summit in July.

By 1949, NATO has grown from twelve members to thirty-two. Deputy Secretary General stressed that NATO's open door policy has brought more forces, more skills and more people with skills and expertise to the Alliance. NATO's <x0.>Aleates from Baltic to the Black Sea contribute significantly to NATO collective security”, he said, stressing that these countries also contribute to the NATO innovation ecosystem.

NATO's Open Door Conference in Helsinki was co-organised by embassies of countries participating in co-operation with the Finnish Institute for International Affairs and Finland's Atlantic Council.