Stoltenberg Says Each NATO State Must Decide on Kiev Lethal Aid on Its Own

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has announced that each member of the alliance must make an independent decision on the supply of weapons to the Kiev government, which continues to fight independence supporters in southeastern Ukraine, the DPA news agency reports.

Speaking at the Conference of the Social and Democratic Party in Berlin on Sunday, Stoltenberg also said that he supports the reconciliation efforts of the Normandy Quartet, which includes Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine.

Normandy format talks have not led to any significant breakthroughs in Ukraine peace efforts. Kiev forces that launched a military operation against independence supporters in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions last spring, continue to clash with local militia, which leads to heavy civilian casualties.

Meanwhile, the US Congress has recently called for the provision of lethal assistance to Kiev-led forces.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko asked US Congress for lethal weapon supplies during his September visit to the United States, however, Washington did not grant his request.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out any possibility of weapon supplies to Ukraine, stating that this would not help solve the crisis. Other European states, including Finland, France and Italy have also rejected the idea.