Stoltenberg says he is in dialogue with Turkey to "find a way out" and ensure Finland and Sweden join NATO

MADRID, 30 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg assured on Monday that he is in dialogue with Turkey, "taking their concerns seriously" about the annexation of Finland and Sweden, to "find a way out" and "ensure" that these countries join to the Atlantic Alliance.

This is how Stoltenberg spoke in an interview on Cadena COPE, collected by Europa Press, in which he stated that he "celebrates" the position of Finland and Sweden in this regard because, as he defended, "it is something historic that also shows that Russia does not decide who has the right to enter NATO." "Each independent nation chooses its path, as happened with Spain 40 years ago, and Russia has nothing to say," he added.

In this regard, regarding the war in Ukraine, Stoltenberg has revealed that the invasion "was not surprising" because NATO already predicted it last fall. "We warn again and again about the Russian military build-up and its plans to invade," he added, while insisting that "the use of force against an independent and sovereign nation in Europe is unacceptable."

However, he also stressed that, specifically, NATO "is not at war" and that it is the Alliance's allies that provide support "to the valuable partner" that is Ukraine. "To help them defend the right to self-defense that is included in the United Nations," she explained.

He also pointed out that NATO is not directly involved because "an escalation in this war" would cause "much more damage, much more suffering and that would be much more dangerous for thousands of people in Europe," Stoltenberg added.

Asked about Europe's foreign policy and defense, the NATO secretary general insisted that it is now "a much more active Russia, a pattern that has been seen for many years, especially since the first invasion of Ukraine in 2014", while recalling Russian actions in "the use of force against Georgia, the brutal bombings in Aleppo or Russian participation in the war in Syria".

For this reason, Stoltenberg has indicated that NATO has implemented the "greatest reinforcement in defense since the Cold War", which has also had the support of the Government of Spain. "I was with Pedro Sánchez in Latvia, I know of his strong personal commitment to NATO. I have seen the Spanish soldiers, their courage and their professionalism, and we have to make sure that we send a clear message of deterrence and defense not to provoke the conflict, but to ensure peace in all NATO territories," he said.

On the end of the war in Ukraine, Stoltenberg has mentioned that it is "an unpredictable war" and has expressed his "full confidence" in the political leadership of Ukraine. "In the end they have to be the ones to judge the negotiations, what to accept and what not to accept. Our responsibility as countries that believe in democracy and freedom is to support a democratic nation that is being attacked by an anti-democratic regime such as Russia. ", has valued.

Thus, he has opined that "almost all wars end at the negotiating table" and that "what happens at the negotiating table depends entirely on the strength and the situation on the battlefield." For all these reasons, he has placed special emphasis on supporting Ukraine "to strengthen its possibility of obtaining an acceptable solution" within the framework of the dialogue.

The head of NATO has stressed that it is "a brutal war mainly for the people who die in Ukraine, children, women, thousands of people who are innocent", but has also recognized its "brutality" in the face of "serious consequences" throughout the world economy.

"Also, of course, for people who suffer from poverty in Africa and around the world, who are now suffering from the increase in food prices," he added.

In this regard, Stoltenberg has differentiated that this increase "has not been caused by our sanctions but by the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports" and has directly blamed the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin: "This is the responsibility of President Putin, for having done that millions of people in the world suffer from the high price of food and energy".

Likewise, he has valued the work of the NATO allies who "are involved with all their efforts to ensure that the maximum amount of grain and food leaves Ukraine by land, trains, by road", but has stressed that the problem is capacity. "The important thing is to open the sea routes to be able to transport the grain, but of course that is difficult and, again, it is Russia's fault that it does not free the Ukrainian ports," he added.

Finally, the Secretary General of NATO has underlined the need for the Alliance to "look to the south". "You can't afford to choose to look east, north or south, we have to look in all directions and deal with it," he claimed.

Following this thread, he has recalled his actions in Afghanistan and Iraq to "fight against terrorism", where he has valued the presence of Spanish soldiers in the NATO mission. He has also made reference to his actions, "helping the terrorist fight, controlling borders, with defense and with many other efforts". "But I really hope and wish that we take a step forward and there is a lot of progress," she said.