NATO leaders have reiterated their condemnation of the Russian offensive against Ukraine, one month after the invasion, and have warned that the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine by Russia will have “great consequences”.
In a message practically in unison before starting the extraordinary summit in which North America and Europe will study next steps before the Russian invasionAllied leaders have responded to fears over the use of chemical weapons by warning that it would be crossing yet another red line, with which Moscow would pay a heavy price.
Upon arrival at the meeting, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo criticized Putin’s “total disregard” for international law, assuring that he is reaching a “high level of atrocity” in the offensive against the neighboring country. “On deterrence we are clear, if chemical weapons are used there will be great consequences“, he pointed out.
“We have to make it clear that this is unacceptable and that it will have great consequences,” agreed the Norwegian ‘premier’, Jonas Gahr Store, after admitting that there is concern within the alliance about the use of this type of weapon in the conflict. from Ukraine.
A similar message has been conveyed by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, noting that NATO must ensure that Russia understands the “high price” of using chemical weapons. Like the Estonian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, who has called for “doubling efforts” within NATO to ensure that Putin “does not win the war”, and the Latvian President, Egils Levits, who has stressed that “in Ultimately, Russia must fail.
Furthermore, Nauseda has insisted that the Russian threat is not limited only to neighboring countries, such as Poland or the Baltics, and that other partners further away from Russia “are not safe either” because Putin’s threat is “to the whole world”.
More skeptical of the use of chemical weapons has been the Slovenian Prime Minister, Janez Jansa, and has declared that for Russia “it would be shooting itself in the foot”. In his opinion, kyiv needs “modern weapons, money to survive and humanitarian aid.”
For his part, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reiterated that NATO is not a mere “geographical alliance” and is based on values and principles, for which he will fight to defend Ukraine from the “unacceptable” Russian invasion.
While the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has demanded that the Russian President “stop the war, stop the invasion, withdraw the troops and return to the internationally recognized borders” of Russia.
The extraordinary summit of NATO leaders will serve for the president of the United States, Joe Biden, to discuss with European partners the evolution of the war in Ukraine. The leaders are expected to discuss what further military, financial and humanitarian support they can offer kyiv in the face of the Russian invasion. Although the option of sending troops to the ground or applying a no-fly zone is not on the table.
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