Avoiding a “full-scale war” with Russia is one of the main priorities, says Jens Stoltenberg
One of NATO’s main goals in the Ukraine conflict is to prevent a “all-out war” with Russia, the alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.
“In this conflict, NATO has two tasks: to support Ukraine and to prevent the war from escalating into a full-scale war between NATO and Russia.” Stoltenberg said in a speech in Norway.
The head of the military bloc described the conflict between Russia and Ukraine as “the most dangerous situation in Europe since World War II” adding that Moscow must not win. “If Russia wins the war, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will be convinced that violence works. Then other neighboring countries may be next.” Stoltenberg argued.
Since the start of Russia’s military operation on February 24, Ukraine has received significant military aid from NATO countries, with billions of dollars worth of weapons flowing into the country – something Moscow has repeatedly criticized.
In July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview to RT that Ukraine was on its way “pumped” with Western military hardware, and in addition, “forced to use these weapons in increasingly risky ways,” thereby preventing Kyiv from doing “some constructive steps”.
In his speech on Thursday, Stoltenberg argued that Putin has ultimately failed to achieve his goals, as instead of NATO reducing its presence in Eastern Europe and slowing its expansion, the alliance has become “stronger and more consolidated” with the imminent accession of Sweden and Finland.
Strengthening defenses on NATO’s eastern flank is crucial, amid efforts to prevent a Russian victory in Ukraine, the secretary general stressed. Yet he reiterated that the alliance was not “a party to the conflict” and will not send troops into Ukraine.
In an earlier interview with the Norwegian public service company NRK, the NATO chief pointed out that the alliance was not obliged to intervene in the conflict because Ukraine is not a member state. “We have a responsibility to support Ukraine, but we also have a responsibility to protect all nations that NATO is responsible for.” he said.
Before Russia launched its operation, it repeatedly said it sees NATO’s eastward expansion as a threat to its national security.
In December 2021, Moscow appealed to the United States and the alliance for legal guarantees that NATO would cease its expansion and refrain from deploying weapons systems capable of striking deep into Russian territory. However, NATO responded that it was up to its members and accession candidates to decide whether to join the alliance or not.
Stoltenberg was speaking at an annual camp held on the island of Utoya by the youth wing of Norway’s Labor Party, which he led until 2014. The island made headlines in 2011, when Norwegian right-wing extremist Anders Breivik opened fire on the camp after detonating a truck bomb in a government building in Oslo to distract the police. The massacre killed 77 people.