NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that the Alliance was “closely following” the military rapprochement between Russia and China, warning that Beijing is on alert for its invasion of Ukraine.
“We are closely following the growth and strengthening of relations between China and Russia. We see that they are operating more together, doing exercises together: naval patrols, joint air patrols”acknowledged Stoltenberg upon arrival at the security conference in Munich (Germany).
For the NATO leader, the war in Ukraine proved that “security is not regional, security is global, because what happens in Europe matters to Asia, and what happens in Asia matters to Europe”.
“We know that Beijing is closely following the war in Ukraine. Because if (Russian) President Putin wins there, it will affect the calculations and decisions they make in Beijing”defended Stoltenberg.
Stoltenberg said his main message to the people of Ukraine is that “NATO allies and partners will be with Ukraine as long as necessary” and assured that the Atlantic Alliance “will not allow President Putin to win this war”.
The Secretary General of the Alliance made it clear that support for Ukraine is to enable it to triumph as an independent sovereign nation and to bring the conflict to an end “at the negotiating table”. “But we know that what happens around the negotiating table depends on the strength on the battlefield”Stoltenberg explained.
Stoltenberg will speak at a roundtable at the Munich security conference on Saturday, along with Finland’s president Sauli Niinisto, Moldova’s president Maia Sandu, and Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen.
Source: DN
