NATO Chief To Visit Ukraine In September

Kyiv says NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will visit Ukraine later this month, for the first time since taking office in March 2014.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin made the announcement on September 7 following talks in Brussels with Stoltenberg.

Klimkin said the date of the "symbolic" visit will be announced "in the coming days."

He also said Kyiv will “fully use the potential of the visit" to cement ties and boost cooperation with NATO, with Stoltenberg invited to attend a session of Ukraine's national security council.

"We will approve a number of strategic documents, including military doctrine," Klimkin said, adding that these will notably pave the way for NATO to open an embassy in Ukraine.

Russia has long been wary of closer ties between NATO and Ukraine, which is battling a separatist insurgency in the country’s east.

Based on reporting by dpa and AFP