WASHINGTON

NATO's secretary general said Thursday that Ukraine can count on the alliance "now and for the long haul" as its three-day leaders' summit in Washington, D.C. concluded.

"Today, we send a strong message of unity to Moscow that violence and intimidation do not pay and that Ukraine can count on NATO now and for the long haul," Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference.

"Allies have agreed that as Ukraine continues necessary reforms, we will support them on their irreversible path to membership," he said.

Noting that China has become a "decisive enabler" of Russia's war against Ukraine, the NATO chief said: "We agree that China cannot continue to fuel the largest military conflict in Europe without this impacting Beijing's interests and reputation."

Asked about the upcoming presidential election in the US, Stoltenberg said: "I would just say that I expect that the United States will remain a strong and loyal NATO ally, because it is in the security interest of United States."

"The reality is that NATO makes also the United States stronger and safer," he added.

On recent elections in Europe, he said there are questions whether new governments and new political parties will support NATO. "And of course, in democracy, you don't have any guarantees. But the reality is that NATO has proven extremely resilient, because every time they have a new party, a new government, they realize that every NATO ally is safer in NATO than outside NATO," the NATO secretary general said.