NATO Secretary General called the supply of weapons to Ukraine the shortest path to peace

Arms deliveries to Kyiv can quickly lead to a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. This statement was made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in interview DPA.

“It may sound like a paradox, but military support for Ukraine is the shortest path to peace,” he said.

Stoltenberg added that Russia must realize that it will not be able to achieve its goals in Ukraine. According to the NATO Secretary General, after that, peace talks will become possible.

In early December, NATO Secretary General declaredthat at the moment there are no conditions for peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. According to him, Moscow has not yet shown a signal of readiness. On December 23, Stoltenberg said that the Ukrainian authorities had previously presented their plan for a peaceful settlement, which provides for the withdrawal of Russian troops, but the Russian Federation rejected it. The NATO Secretary General accused Moscow of trying to “freeze” the conflict in order to prepare a new offensive.

In early November, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking at the G20 summit, listed 10 conditions of the “Ukrainian peace formula”, among which are the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, the withdrawal of Russian troops, and fixing the end of the conflict.

On December 23, The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s team is finalizing the details of a plan for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, which consists of ten points. According to the publication, proposals under development may be submitted in February 2023.

The Kremlin said that information about the “peace plan” has not yet been received. And on December 28, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov clarifiedthat “no peace plan can exist” without taking into account the entry into the Russian Federation of four new regions. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticized Zelensky’s “peace formula”, calling it illusory. He added that Russia “will not talk to anyone under such conditions.”

Since the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, the parties have held talks several times in February and March, mediated by Turkey. The previous meeting of representatives of Russia and Ukraine took place on March 29 in Istanbul, after which the process was frozen. The Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that they are still open to negotiations, while in Ukraine they passed a law that prohibits negotiations with Moscow.