Stoltenberg on peace talks with Russia: We cannot have Minsk-3
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that in order to establish peace in Ukraine, its members must provide military support to the country, which is exactly what the Alliance is doing.
Source: Stoltenberg at a press conference ahead of the NATO Summit in Washington, as reported by European Pravda
Details: The NATO Secretary General was questioned if the Alliance's leaders were decisive enough to reject the pressure to force Ukraine to accept territorial concessions and refusal to join NATO as a condition for a cease-fire.
Quote: "Well, NATO leaders are decisive and strong and that will be strongly expressed at the NATO Summit where I expect a strong package for Ukraine. With the new NATO train and assistance for Ukraine, with a NATO command for Ukraine, with a financial pledge, with additional announcements of more military support, with the bilateral security agreements…"
He stated that Kyiv, as a sovereign independent state, should decide what circumstances are appropriate for peace talks and any solutions obtained through negotiations.
"What we shall do as NATO Allies is to help Ukraine to strengthen their hand, because we know that there is a very strong link between what happens around the negotiating table and the situation on the battlefield," Stoltenberg said.
The chief of NATO observed that there is no indication that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is prepared for peace talks, with his most recent request being that Ukraine surrender all lands in the four oblasts that he illegally annexed.
Stoltenberg also recalled that the Russian aggressive war on Ukraine began in 2014 with the unlawful invasion of Crimea.
"…then some months later [the Russians – ed.] went into eastern Donbas, agreed the ceasefire, Minsk I, violated that, moved the frontline even further west, agreed Minsk II, waited for seven years and then launched the full-scale attack and took even more. We cannot have Minsk III," he emphasised.
He concluded that when Russia ceases its aggression, NATO requires security and the ability to provide Ukraine with the means to deter Russia.
"...we also need some kind of security guarantees for Ukraine. And of course, that was also one of the reasons why Allies so clearly have stated that Ukraine will become a member of NATO," Stoltenberg explained.
During his visit to Moscow on 5 July, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said that he asked Vladimir Putin three questions regarding Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
Orbán said that after his visits to Moscow and Kyiv, he realised that the positions of both sides regarding the war of aggression unleashed by Russia "are very far apart".
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