“Russia should be judged by deeds and not by words; He lied many times

NATO does not trust Russia’s will to reach an agreement in negotiations with Ukraine. “He has lied many times in the past, not expressing his desire to reach an agreement through diplomatic channels, but a military outcome,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels on Thursday.

“Russia should be judged by its actions, not by its words,” he told the Kremlin in response to messages from the Kremlin that a “sharp” reduction in its operations in the north, in the Kiev and Chernihiv regions. “Increasing mutual trust” in peace talks.

This is an area where Russian troops have largely stopped – around Kiev, Ukraine is fighting – while their biggest gains are in the south and east. “We can expect more suffering from offensive actions,” Stoltenberg said. “Russia must end this war, withdraw its troops and start a frank dialogue. We welcome any attempt, including negotiations in Turkey, but Russia has little desire to implement political decisions. “We should judge Russia by its actions, not by its words.”

“According to our intelligence services,” said the Norwegian, “Russian units are not retreating, they are deploying. Russia is trying to regroup, supply and intensify its attack in the Donbas region. At the same time, Russia continues to put pressure on Kiev and other cities. ”

NATO Secretary General defends that there is “a connection between the battlefield and the negotiating table, and NATO is trying to strengthen Ukraine’s position by sending weapons to the table”: How long? “You have to keep sending weapons for as long as you need to,” Stoltenberg said. “We do not see any real change in Russia’s main targets.”

In this regard, the Norwegian drew attention to the consequences of the blockade of the Black Sea ports by Russia: “The Black Sea is important for NATO, but the ports are also important for the export of grain and food, and the blockade. “Ports are a problem for prices and shortages around the world.”

As for the possibility of Finland requesting membership in the Atlantic Alliance, Stoltenberg acknowledged that “this is a sovereign decision of Finland”, while he dared to say that the country was “quickly welcomed”.

East flank

This statement was made by the Secretary General of NATO during the presentation of the 2021 Annual Report. According to the data collected in the document, Spain in 2021 allocated 1.03% of its GDP to military spending and became the second NATO country with the lowest spending. Share of GDP in defense, just behind Luxembourg.

The annual report indicates that European countries and Canada spent 1.69% of their gross domestic product on military spending in 2021, which is far from the 2% set by the Allies by 2024. According to the data, only eight out of 30 countries meet 2%: United States, United Kingdom, Greece, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. The United States invested 3.57% of GDP in 2021 in defense.

As for the share of defense spending invested in military equipment, Spain meets the target of reaching at least 20% and reaching 22.75% by 2021.

“The report shows our work to strengthen NATO’s containment and defense and our readiness for the future,” Stoltenberg said. “Our security environment has deteriorated dramatically in recent months. The brutal invasion of Ukraine by President Putin is shocking. NATO has publicly and repeatedly warned that Russia was ready to invade a full-fledged Ukraine. We prepare for the worst, but we work for the best. “We did everything we could to get Russia involved in the dialogue, but they decided to sever diplomatic relations.”

Thus, Stoltenberg explained: “Last autumn we took steps to strengthen the training of our forces, to send more troops to the East and to increase support for Ukraine. “Ukrainian forces are now bigger, better equipped, better trained and better guided than ever, with the courage that has impressed the world.”

At the Brussels Summit in June 2021, NATO agreed on an “Ambitious and Future-Oriented 2030 Agenda”. At the Madrid Summit in June, NATO will take “the next steps towards modernizing the Alliance, strengthening its long-term restraint and defense and preparedness.” We agree on goals to make our communities and critical infrastructure less vulnerable; We will continue to accelerate transatlantic innovation to ensure we maintain our technological advantage; We will agree on an ambitious goal to reduce the impact of our military on the climate; We will continue to support and cooperate with like-minded partners, including the European Union. In Madrid, we will also approve NATO’s new strategic concept, our Alliance’s most important guiding document since our founding North Atlantic Treaty.