NATO is not and will not be part of the conflict in Ukraine, said today the secretary general of the pact Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference after the end of the two-day meeting of the foreign ministers of the alliance in Brussels, BTA reported.
We have no plans to send troops to Ukraine, no request to do so. Aiding Ukraine does not make us part of the conflict, he added.
Stoltenberg announced that the allies support the proposal that future military aid to Kiev be coordinated by the pact and thus achieve predictability. According to him, work on this issue will continue in the coming weeks.
The situation on the battlefield remains serious. Ukraine needs more funds for air defense, ammunition and support. We see that Russia is putting pressure on the front and mobilizing more troops, ready to sacrifice men and equipment for insignificant purposes. There are two options - for the allies to provide more aid and for Ukraine to take back more of the captured lands; the other possibility is that we can't do that and Russia moves on, the danger increases. The only way to achieve a lasting and just peace is in the strength of the Ukrainian armed forces, only then (Russian President Vladimir) Putin can be convinced that he will not win on the battlefield and must negotiate an acceptable solution in which Ukraine retains its independence. I strongly believe that this is possible, said Stoltenberg.
I object to any attempts by the Georgian authorities to return the bill on "foreign agents", this contradicts the efforts to strengthen the democratic institutions in the country and for rapprochement with NATO and the EU, the Secretary General pointed out.