NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed on Friday that there is no “imminent military threat” from Russia to NATO countries. According to Anadolu.
He said in a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson: “As long as we don’t give any room for misunderstandings or faulty assessment in Moscow or other potential capitals in countries that could potentially attack us, there is no military threat against NATO countries.”
This proposal is considered among a group of proposals that NATO is considering, regarding whether to deploy its forces on Ukrainian territory, which may accelerate the training and equipping of Ukrainian forces, but may increase the risk of expanding the war with Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned last week that the West could face “serious consequences” after Washington and Western countries gave Ukraine the green light to strike military targets inside Russian territory with Western weapons.
Putin asked, “How will the United States act, taking into account parity in the field of strategic weapons,” referring to American and Russian nuclear capabilities.
Countries allied to Ukraine recently confirmed strengthening their military support, including France, which announced Thursday that it would supply Mirage 2000-5 fighters to Kyiv.
Stoltenberg said in recent statements that allowing the use of Western weapons to strike targets in Russia is “not a new matter,” as Britain had previously sent cruise missiles to Kyiv without conditions.
He added, “This is how it is, every time NATO members provide support to Ukraine, they threaten us so that we do not do so,” adding, “This is part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to prevent NATO members from supporting Ukraine.”
Julianne Smith, the US ambassador to NATO, told Foreign Policy: “We are looking at ways to institutionalize some of the bilateral support that is flowing to Ukraine, and put it within the NATO framework.”
She added that this aims to “achieve the greatest coherence of that assistance, and to ensure that there is appropriate burden-sharing across the alliance and collective support for Ukraine.”
The United States is Ukraine’s primary military supporter in the face of the Russian invasion and has allocated more than $50 billion to this country since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine, according to what the Pentagon announced in a briefing on May 10.
NATO’s Supreme Commander in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli, confirmed to AFP on Thursday that NATO countries are ready to defend themselves but need to increase production of military equipment.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and Kyiv’s Western-backed defenses demonstrated the great need in modern conflicts for ammunition and other equipment, according to the agency.
But defense equipment manufacturers needed time to increase their production, from artillery shells to vehicles and drones.
“We need to produce equipment faster,” Cavoli said. “I think all NATO countries realize this and are working on it.”
Sources in NATO, whose names were not revealed by the magazine, indicate that some “secretly view the envoy’s role as part of a watered-down package that falls short of Kyiv’s main ambitions to officially join NATO.”
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg confirmed on Thursday that the alliance has no plans to deploy forces in Ukraine, which has been supplying weapons to many NATO members since the start of the Russian invasion.
However, NATO, which met on Friday in Prague, seeks to permanently consolidate its military support for Ukraine at a level of no less than 40 billion euros per year, “as long as this is necessary,” in light of the Russian invasion of this country.
Stoltenberg said at the conclusion of the meeting: “Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the allies have provided approximately 40 billion euros per year in military aid to Ukraine. We must maintain this level of support at a minimum every year, as long as it is necessary.”
He explained that no decision had been taken as the meeting was informal, but “we made notable progress in a number of areas.”
The alliance also intends to regain control over the process of coordinating military assistance to Ukraine, which is currently undertaken by the United States.
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the West to make more efforts to achieve a just peace in Ukraine, expressing his confidence that Kyiv will emerge victorious from this war.
