NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in an exclusive interview with EURACTIV that there is reason to worry about Russia’s build-up of troops near Ukraine, but NATO is determined to “defend all allies in the region.” There is no doubt about this.
Stoltenberg said in an interview before visiting Latvia and Lithuania from November 27 to 28 and before the NATO foreign ministers meeting: “We are sending a clear message to Russia that if they use force against Ukraine again, it will Consequences.” In Riga, the focus may be on Russia.
However, when asked what to do if Russia invaded Ukraine, Stoltenberg, who went to the Baltic Sea with Ursula von der Lein, the president of the European Commission, said, “The first task is to prevent this from happening.” .
When asked about the consequences of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the NATO chairman mentioned economic, financial and diplomatic means, but did not elaborate.
Recently, German Chancellor Merkel stated that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine should lead to EU sanctions.
Stoltenberg confirmed that Russia has assembled heavy military equipment, tanks and combat readiness troops near Ukraine.
Similarly, among EU and NATO diplomats in Brussels, there is no doubt that the Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, with the support of the Kremlin, deliberately provoked an immigration crisis at the EU border.
When asked about the possible use of the Belarusian border crisis by the Kremlin as a smokescreen to prepare for military operations, Stoltenberg said: “Russia’s intentions are not yet certain, but what we know is that they have used military forces against Ukraine before. Strength.” Oppose the country.
“They did this in 2014, they still occupy Crimea, they continue to destabilize eastern Ukraine and the Donbass, they launched several cyber attacks against Ukraine, and they are responsible for the mixed activities against Ukraine-now We have seen very radical remarks,” he said.
Stoltenberg said: “Of course, if you put all of this together, there is reason to be concerned,” he added, “the determination and commitment of NATO to defend all its allies in the region should not be misunderstood.”
Stoltenberg said: “The increase in NATO’s military presence in the eastern part of the alliance is a direct consequence of Russia’s use of force against Ukraine,” he was referring to NATO’s battle groups in Poland and the Baltic countries and the increase in defense spending.
When asked whether NATO plans to increase the military capabilities of the East Wing, Stoltenberg said that NATO will “continuously evaluate the need for further adjustments.”
“But I think what we are showing is actually a strong willingness to adjust NATO in response to a more demanding security environment,” he added.
At the same time, in the high north, Finland—a close partner but not a NATO member—has a 1,300 km long EU external land border with Russia and already has Worry In the future, something similar to immigration may happen there.
When asked how NATO will react if Moscow starts a similar large-scale “hybrid operation” to send refugees across the Russian-Finnish border, Stoltenberg said that NATO will “share information and best practices to deal with the mix. Attacks and cyber attacks”.
Beyond?
In 2019, NATO leaders agreed for the first time to pay more attention to the challenges posed by China’s “increasing international influence” and military strength. This has become a delicate balancing act.
As a country with a strong military presence in the Indo-Pacific region, the United States’ view of China has slowly entered the perception of its European allies. Many of them are more willing to label Russia as a “threat” and China as a “threat”. “Challenge” to avoid putting Moscow and Beijing in the same basket.
When asked whether the current security situation may also be the result of NATO losing its main focus on Russia, Stoltenberg said: “We do not have the luxury of choosing terrorism or Russia or China.”
Stoltenberg said: “In the past few years, we have seen a huge transformation of NATO. We have invested less resources in missions and operations outside the region such as Afghanistan, and in collective defense in Europe. More resources have been invested.”
“This is not to allow NATO to enter Asia, but to consider what happens there is important to our safety here,” Stoltenberg said.
“We need to realize that we all face global challenges, so the idea that we can distinguish or try to limit threats to specific geographic areas no longer applies-it is intertwined,” he added.
When asked whether he was concerned that Washington might intend to slowly transfer European security responsibilities to Europeans under such circumstances, and increasingly shift the focus to the Indo-Pacific region, the NATO chairman emphasized that “NATO is still It will be a regional alliance”.
“But the region faces global challenges. They bring NATO closer to the Chinese border,” Stoltenberg said, referring to Beijing’s confidence in cyber, space and ballistic missile weapon systems that can reach Europe.
He also welcomed the recently announced Indo-Pacific strategy, It also recognized the need for EU member states to “strengthen naval deployment” in the region.
However, Stoltenberg doesn’t want to speculate about what the North Dating will do if one of the EU member states, which is also a NATO member, faces threats when deploying in the Indo-Pacific region.
“It absolutely depends on what kind of situation we will face, but NATO will not become a global alliance. NATO Article 5 applies to Europe or North America,” he emphasized.
“But as we have seen, sometimes we need to act beyond national borders-the first time was in Bosnia and Herzegovina, NATO allies entered Iraq and Syria, NATO is part of the global alliance to defeat the Islamic State, which is with us. The reason for the action is exactly the same. I went to Afghanistan,” he concluded.
No “acting alone”
In view of the EU’s strategic autonomy debate, Stoltenberg also emphasized that NATO has been the main security provider in the crises of the past few years.
“NATO is there-from Bosnia, Kosovo, Libya to Afghanistan-this is strategic unity,” he added
Stoltenberg said: “I believe in strategic unity, which means that I not only believe in North America, I not only believe in Europe, I believe that North America and Europe are together in a more competitive world, and we should act alone.”
When presenting the strategic compass, Josep Borrell, the chief diplomat of the European Union, emphasized that this is the first blueprint for the EU’s future military strategy. Europe should become a security provider.
However, Eastern Europeans, along with more transatlantic member states, emphasized that any new EU military concept should not be at the cost of NATO, but should be at the cost of NATO.
Stoltenberg declined to comment on the content of the EU’s strategic guidelines, stressing that NATO is updating its own strategic contract.
“We welcome European defense efforts, of course, yes. When asked about the EU’s defense ambitions, the NATO official said that we do not welcome duplication, that is, new structures that compete for the same power.
He stated that more European capabilities, including military projects under the EU Structural Permanent Cooperation (PESCO) and European Defense Fund (EDF), will be “strongly welcomed” because they will be seen as “providing the new capabilities we need.” A way of doing things”. “
“Of course, these capabilities should also be available for NATO operations. We have a good example of the cooperation between the EU and NATO to develop new multi-purpose aerial refueling capabilities,” he said.
[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]
