NATO chief denies plans for allied combat presence in Ukraine
International Desk
NATO has no plans to put boots on the ground in Ukraine despite the fact that several member states have posted uniformed military personnel to Kiev, Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday.
"There are no plans for any NATO combat presence in Ukraine but, of course, several NATO allies have men and women in uniform at the embassies giving advice," the secretary general told MSNBC.
Stoltenberg argued that the presence of allied military personnel in Ukraine did not make the alliance or its member states party to the conflict.
The Norwegian also insisted that the military assistance flowing to Ukraine from NATO allies, including the $61 billion in funding passed by the US House of Representatives on Saturday, was no charity.
"We have to remember that the military support that NATO allies, the United States are providing to Ukraine is not charity — it is an investment in our own security," he said.
Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder said on Saturday that Washington was considering sending more military advisers to the Office of Defense Cooperation at the US Embassy in Kiev. Ryder said that the office performed advisory and non-combat support missions despite being staffed exclusively with Department of Defense personnel.
