NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that the upcoming summit of the Alliance, which will take place in Washington on July 10-11, will be a historic event because it will mark the anniversary of NATO and because the Allies will make important decisions on Ukraine.

"This will be a historic Summit because we will celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the most successful Alliance in history. But we will do more than celebrations. We will also make important decisions for the future on deterrence and defense, on Ukraine, and on how to expand our partnerships in particular with our partners in the Asia-Pacific," he said in Washington on Wednesday.

When speaking about the decisions on Ukraine, Stoltenberg said he expects "Allies to agree a substantial package, which will consist of five elements."

"One is a NATO Command for Ukraine to provide security assistance and training. A long-term pledge to continue and sustain our support to Ukraine. New announcements of immediate military support including air defense and new bilateral security agreements between NATO Allies and Ukraine. And then finally we will step up what to do to ensure full interoperability between Ukrainian forces and NATO forces including with a new training and aviation center in Poland," he said.

The Secretary General said that all together these five elements constitute a strong bridge for Ukraine to membership of the Alliance.

"And I'm confident that Allies will then reiterate their commitment that Ukraine will become a member of NATO," he said.