NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg spoke out this Sunday against the opening, at this time, of peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia, since it cannot be a peace “dictated by Russia”.
“We all want this war to end, but for peace to be lasting, it has to be fair,” Stoltenberg said in an interview published today by the German daily Welt am Sonntag.
The official added that “peace cannot mean freezing the conflict and accepting an agreement dictated by Russia, considering that “only Ukraine can define the terms that are acceptable.”
In this sense, he stressed that the Ukrainian military successes strengthen kyiv’s negotiating position.
“The more territory Ukraine manages to liberate, the better cards it will have at the negotiating table to reach a just and lasting peace,” he explained.
As for the recent deployment of Russian tactical nukes in Belarus, Stoltenberg sees them as a bolster of Ukraine’s NATO bid, though he ruled out a “fast track” as speculated earlier in the week.
“Ukraine’s future is in NATO, but the priority now is for Ukraine to reassert itself as a sovereign and independent state. Otherwise, there is no option to discuss membership,” he said, considering it necessary “to ensure that, when the war is over, there is a credible deal for Ukraine’s security so that Russia cannot rearm and attack again.”
The NATO Secretary General defended that “the cycle of Russian aggressions must be broken.” Stoltenberg also said that the NATO summit in Vilnius in July will approve a new assistance package that provides for Ukraine’s approximation to NATO standards in the future and, in particular, the intensification of political relations.
“This will bring Ukraine closer to NATO,” he said.
Source: TSF
