Jan Lipavský, the Czech foreign minister, said: “We do welcome the initiative and we need to see practicalities and the details.”
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said: “We need to calculate how much Ukraine needs to keep its democracy, sovereignty and territorial integrity. And when we have that amount, we have to decide how we can get it.”
Hungary, the most pro-Russian NATO country, is balking.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó insisted that NATO was only a defense alliance. “Hungary will reject any proposal that would transform it into an offensive alliance as this would lead to the serious danger of escalation,” he said before the meeting, adding: “This isn’t Hungary’s war and it isn’t NATO’s war either.”
But Stoltenberg argued that creating more certainty with how Ukraine is armed and financed will also send a clear message to the Kremlin.
“We see Russia is pushing and we see how they try to win this war by just waiting us out,” he said. “And then we need to answer by sending a clear message of practical support, financial support, and an institutional framework that ensures that we are there for the long haul to be able to end the war.”
Clothilde Goujard contributed reporting.
This article has been updated with White House reaction.
