Stoltenberg: Russia’s victory in the conflict will weaken NATO

If Russia wins the conflict in Ukraine, it will be a tragedy for Kyiv and also make NATO more vulnerable. This was stated by Secretary General of the military alliance Jens Stoltenberg at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. broadcast which was hosted on YouTube.

“If[Russian]President Vladimir Putin wins, it will be a tragedy for Ukraine, but it will be dangerous for us too, it will make us more vulnerable,” Stoltenberg said.

Therefore, it is important for NATO countries to continue to provide assistance to Kyiv, he said.

The secretary general of the alliance also said that Russia was against every expansion of NATO, but it was not for her to decide which countries could enter the military bloc and which not, Stoltenberg added.

On the first day of the summit, July 11, NATO member countries agreed on the conditions for Ukraine’s entry into NATO. Kyiv will be sent an invitation to join after all the conditions are met and the unanimous consent of all members of the bloc is reached, Stoltenberg said. The Secretary General of the alliance said that he proposed to abolish for Ukraine the requirements for a membership action plan (MAP) in NATO – a list of political, economic and military requirements that must be met by candidates for the organization since 1999. For Kiev, the “formal” conditions for joining alliance, which will allow it to shorten the accession process.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the alliance deceived the USSR and did not fulfill the promise given to it not to expand to the east. The head of state drew attention to the fact that Poland, Romania and the Baltic countries, one of Russia’s closest neighbors in terms of territorial location, have already joined NATO.