“We want to send a clear message to Russia that we are united and that Russia will incur high economic and political costs if it again uses military force against Ukraine,” Jens Stoltenberg said during a meeting with Ukraine’s deputy prime minister.
Stoltenberg was speaking before a meeting of the “Atlantic-Ukraine” committee with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stevanishina, where they stressed the “necessity of dialogue with Moscow” to avoid the use of military means..
Talks have been underway since Sunday in Geneva, between the Russians and the Americans. A meeting of the Atlantic-Russia Council is expected to be held on Wednesday in Brussels, the first since July 2019. It will be followed on Thursday by a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Vienna.
“Nothing about Ukraine should be done without Ukraine. The aggressor is not in a position to impose conditions, as long as Russian tanks do not leave the Ukrainian border,” Stefanishina said.“.
For his part, Stoltenberg stressed that “Ukraine has the right to defend itself,” adding: “We support Ukraine and help it strengthen its right to self-defense.”“.
The Allies are bilaterally providing equipment and funding for the modernization of the Ukrainian armed forces, as explained by the Secretary General of NATO.
He added, “It is unrealistic to expect that the problems will be resolved by the end of this week, with the end of the scheduled meetings… What we hope is that we will be able to agree on the approach to be followed, which is a series of meetings and a process.”
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