NATO highlights the "clear condemnation" of the United Nations to the Russian annexation

BRUSELAS, 13 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, highlighted on Thursday the "clear condemnation" of the United Nations to the Russian annexation of four regions of eastern Ukraine after the General Assembly rejected by 143 votes in favor and five against the maneuver of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

"I welcome the strong message from the international community, the vote in the United Nations was a clear condemnation of the Russian annexation and a clear call to Putin to reverse his decisions and respect the territory of Ukraine", assured the political head of the NATO on the rejection of the incorporation of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia into Russian territory.

These statements have come at the beginning of the second day of the meeting of allied defense ministers that is being held in Brussels, in the formal greeting to the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin.

"This shows that we have to defend an order based on rules and our principles. In this, the leadership of the United States is essential," Stoltenberg stressed with Austin.

Only five countries -- North Korea, Syria, Nicaragua, Belarus and Russia -- have voted against the UN resolution entitled "Territorial Integrity of Ukraine: Upholding the Principles of the UN Charter."

Another 35 countries have abstained, including India, China, Cuba, Pakistan and several African nations, who have been criticized since the start of the war for showing lukewarm condemnation of Russian aggression. The resolution has been sponsored by up to 70 countries, in addition to Ukraine itself, all member states of the European Union, Australia, Georgia, South Korea, Moldova, Montenegro, Cambodia, the United Kingdom, Burma, several Latin American nations and others from the Pacific. .

After the commitment reached this Wednesday by the allies to reinforce Ukraine's air defenses to help Ukraine defend itself from new Russian attacks, Austin stressed that Washington will continue to send support to kyiv "as long as it takes."

The US Secretary of Defense has defended that the allies have taken a step forward to supply military systems to Ukraine, emphasizing the "quality" and "focus" of NATO when managing the situation. "I am proud of the work that is done. This alliance is the central forum to consult and make decisions on security in the region", he has synthesized.

This same Wednesday, Stoltenberg called for increasing Ukraine's air defenses after the Russian "terrible indiscriminate attacks" against the population and civilian infrastructure and the energy system. Ukraine is a large country, with many cities that may be the target of new attacks, warned the former Norwegian prime minister, who affirmed the need to increase aid to kyiv to "defend even more" its cities.