NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg today reiterated his warning that any future Russian attack on Ukraine would come at a high price and have serious political and economic consequences for Moscow.
Speaking after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Latvian capital, Riga, Stoltenberg said NATO had many ways to deter Russia, including more economic and financial sanctions. He also said that NATO’s support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity “remains steadfast”, calling Kiev a “close and valuable partner”.
“We have a wide range of options to ensure that Russia faces serious consequences if it once again uses force against an independent, sovereign country, Ukraine,” he was quoted as saying on the sidelines of the summit. NATO Secretary General.
“Anything from economic sanctions, financial sanctions, political sanctions, but also, as we saw after 2014 when it illegally annexed Crimea … this has greatly strengthened our collective defense since the end of the Cold War,” Stoltenberg said.
According to the Russian news agency TASS, the NATO Secretary General also said that NATO will actively contribute to the acquisition of military capabilities by Ukraine and Georgia that will allow them to defend themselves. “We are conducting exercises, exchanging information, providing technology and also supporting the reform process,” said Jens Stoltenberg.
In an interview with Reuters Next, the NATO secretary-general warned Russia not to use force against neighboring Ukraine and said Moscow knew it would pay a high price through sanctions and other Western steps for any attack.
“We have all made it very clear that he will pay a high price, and sanctions are one of the options,” he said.
“I think it is quite obvious that Russia already knows that it will pay a higher price,” he added.
The head of NATO said that new economic sanctions against Russia are a powerful tool.
Stoltenberg said that it was publicly known that the allies were providing military support to Ukraine and that this was of a defensive nature and in line with all the international obligations of the partners.
The NATO secretary general has denied allegations that the Western alliance is provoking Moscow with its military exercises in the Black Sea, and blamed Russia for using military exercises as a cover to attack neighboring countries.
“Unlike Russia, NATO has always followed international rules by inviting foreign observers to its high schools,” said Jens Stoltenberg.
“The problem with Russia is that it is not transparent, that it has a very aggressive rhetoric and a history that shows that it has used military training in the past as a cover for aggression against neighboring countries,” he said.
The NATO secretary general said the Western alliance was working to protect its allies against new Chinese and Russian missiles that could reach Europe and North America.
“Russia, as well as China, are now investing heavily in systems with nuclear capabilities that can reach all NATO countries,” he said.
“It’s something we have to take very seriously,” he said, citing Russian investment in extremely long-range, high-velocity, flexible missiles.
Source: AMPE
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Source From: Capital
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