OREANDA-NEWS NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that in the long term the organization will ensure the rearmament of Ukraine from the Soviet to the North Atlantic Alliance standards, TASS reported.

Stoltenberg also said that NATO member states during the summit in Madrid agreed to send additional military assistance to Ukraine and support the Kiev authorities "for as long as it is needed."

According to him, the allies will continue to provide large-scale military and financial assistance to Kiev. The secretary general noted that on June 29, the leaders of the alliance countries agreed on a comprehensive aid package for Ukraine.

Earlier, at the summit in Madrid, the leaders of NATO countries formally invited Sweden and Finland to join the alliance. Sweden and Finland are expected to sign a corresponding protocol of accession. Then the accession of these two countries to the alliance will have to be ratified by parliaments of 30 acting NATO members.