NATO must be prepared for a long standoff with Russia beyond the crisis triggered by President Vladimir Putin’s year-old invasion of Ukraine, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told AFP.
Moscow’s war on its neighbor had to pull Europe into its most dangerous crisis since World War II and pushed NATO into the biggest overhaul of its defenses since the Soviet Union collapsed.
President Putin wants a different Europe, wants a Europe where he can control neighbors, where he can decide what countries can do. We need to be prepared for the long haul, this may last for many, many, many, many years.”
Jens Stoltenberg
The Norwegian head of the US-led alliance said he was careful of predicting how long the renewed face-off between Russia and the West would continue because change could come suddenly.
We saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, or we saw 9/11. NATO would always look into where there are opportunities to again come into the situation where there is room for a better relationship, but with the current behavior of the Russian regime, the regime in Moscow, there’s no way.”
Not a single NATO member has not sent their forces to Ukraine yet. Some Western officials are afraid of direct military conflict could turn into a nuclear war between the West and Russia.
But since the Russian tanks entered, thousands of NATO troops have been deployed to the alliance’s eastern flank and a string of European allies have increased defense spending.
NATO members which are spearheaded by the United States, have also sent tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons to Ukraine to help it fight back against Russia.
