NATO Secretary General: relations with Russia will not normalize after the end of the conflict in Ukraine

Relations between the West and Russia do not normalize even after the end of the military conflict in Ukraine, declared In an interview with the German newspaper Handelsblatt, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

“It won’t be like before. Even if the guns fall silent in Ukraine, we should not expect our relations with Russia to normalize,” he said (quote according to RIA Novosti).

Stoltenberg also spoke about nuclear escalation: in his opinion, “the risk of using nuclear weapons is low.” The Secretary General added that military support for Ukraine is the fastest way to peace, and the conflict is now in a critical phase.

The fact that normal relations with Western countries will not be possible “for decades to come”, December 26, 2022 in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta declared Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev. According to him, 2022 has shown that there is much less in common between Russia and Western countries than it seemed before.

“Unfortunately, we now have no one to talk and negotiate with the West, about nothing, and there is no need to. It was the events of the past year that annulled the very possibility of a confidential and respectful dialogue with representatives of this world “pole.” <...> This is not our choice. Now we will do without them until a new generation of reasonable politicians comes to power there. Let’s be careful and vigilant. We will develop relations with the rest of the world. Fortunately, it is very extensive and treats us normally, ”he said.

Earlier, in an interview with NBC News, the press secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow would never again trust the authorities of Western countries. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Western countries have driven themselves into a trap because they could not foresee the weakening of their influence in the world. He stated this during a speech at the headquarters of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that the iron curtain between Western countries and Russia had already begun to descend. According to him, relations between Russia and the EU have not existed since 2014, because Western countries have destroyed all the mechanisms that have been created for decades.