Zelensky, NATO chief meet on aid for Ukraine

KIEV, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg discussed aid for Ukraine during their meeting in Kiev, the government-run Ukrinform news agency reported Monday.

"Today we discussed Jens' initiative to create a special fund for the financial support of Ukrainian defense worth 100 billion euros (about 107 billion U.S. dollars) for five years," Zelensky told reporters during a media briefing.

The NATO allies have all the instruments to implement such an initiative, Zelensky said, noting that Ukraine expects the new aid to go on top of the assistance under the bilateral agreements on security guarantees.

For his part, Stoltenberg said that some NATO members have agreed to increase their support for Kiev.

Zelensky and Stoltenberg also discussed bilateral ties between Ukraine and NATO and the preparations for the upcoming NATO summit in Washington. D.C., the United States.

Stoltenberg invited Zelensky to participate in the summit that will take place on July 9-11.

According to media reports, Stoltenberg arrived here earlier in the day on an unannounced visit.