NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday condemned the annexation of Ukrainian territories by Russia, considering it an “illegal and illegitimate land seizure.” Regarding the membership request issued by kyiv, Stoltenberg says the decision is up to the 30 member states, but the “focus” now is “immediate help”.
“Any democracy in Europe has the right to apply to join NATO, and NATO allies respect that right,” said the secretary general, who reiterated that “the door to NATO remains open,” and they have “shown it in recent years “.
“The NATO allies, when they met … in Madrid, also made it very clear that we support Ukraine’s right to choose its own path, to decide what kind of security arrangements it wants to be part of,” Stoltenberg said. . , stressing that the decision depends, however, on the “consensus” of each “of the 30 allies”,
“Our focus now is to provide immediate support to Ukraine to help Ukraine defend itself from the brutal Russian invasion,” he said, insisting that immediate assistance is “the main focus and the main effort of NATO allies.”
Regarding Moscow’s announcement of the annexation of Ukrainian territories, Jens Stoltenberg made it clear that “NATO allies do not and will not recognize any of these territories as part of Russia.”
“We call on all states to reject Russia’s blatant attempts at territorial conquest,” Stoltenberg added, calling it an “illegal and illegitimate land grab.”
“These lands are Ukraine. Donetsk is Ukraine. Luhansk is Ukraine. Kherson is Ukraine. Second World War”.
“15% of Ukraine’s territory, an area approximately the size of Portugal, illegally seized by Russia at gunpoint,” he compared, also stressing that “whoever started the war must end it” and guaranteed that NATO intends to maintain support for Ukraine, for “as long as necessary”.
Source: TSF
