NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that in order to establish a stable peace in Ukraine, Western countries must continue to supply weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU). He made the remarks during a speech at the Wilson Center in Washington, the BBC quoted him as saying.
"This may sound like a paradox, but the path to peace is more weapons for Ukraine," Stoltenberg said.
He also stressed that NATO will continue to guide Ukraine towards membership in the Alliance so that the country can join without delay when the time comes. At the last meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, a plan was approved to expand the alliance's involvement in the supply of weapons to Ukraine and the training of the Ukrainian military.
However, NATO has not yet approved Stoltenberg's proposal to allocate $40 billion annually for Ukraine's defense. The wording describing the prospect of Ukraine's membership in the alliance is still being finalized. These issues are expected to be resolved before the NATO summit, which will be held in Washington in July.
In his speech, Stoltenberg also stressed that China must face the consequences of its decision to support Russia, as the country also seeks to maintain good relations with the West.
"Beijing cannot have it both ways. At some point, if China does not change its behavior, the allies must make it pay. There must be consequences," Stoltenberg said.
Western countries believe that Beijing continues to supply Russia with goods that are used to produce weapons. Chinese representatives also did not attend the conference on a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Ukraine, which was held in Switzerland over the weekend.