Ahead the NATO Summit of Thursday, where leaders of the member states are expected to reaffirm their support for Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that Russia should drop this “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric”, warning against Russia’s war in Ukraine sliding into a nuclear confrontation between Moscow and the West.
“Russia should stop this dangerous irresponsible nuclear rhetoric,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference ahead the NATO summit in Brussels. “But let there be no doubt about our readiness to protect and defend allies against any threat anytime.”
He reiterated that NATO will not be part of the conflict in Ukraine, will not send troops there, but it just provides support.
“Russia must understand that it can never win a nuclear war,” he said . “NATO is not part of the conflict … it provides support to Ukraine but isn’t part of the conflict. NATO will not send the troops into Ukraine… It is extremely important to provide support to Ukraine and we are stepping up. But at the same time it is also extremely important to prevent this conflict becoming a full-fledged war between NATO and Russia.”
The NATO summit of tomorrow is also expected to agree on further reinforcement of the Eastern Flank, and on sending four battalions in Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary.
“These battalions are already there, for the most part, they are becoming more integrated and increasing the degree of operationality. They will be an important component of the national defense forces, but it is about the immediate reaction (…) We are talking about hundreds of thousands of soldiers who are on alert now, a significant number of American soldiers, 100,000, many on the Eastern Flank. This is the direct response to the Russian invasion. At the same time, we started the long-term consolidation operation “, explained Stoltenberg, when asked about the troops from Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Hungary.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address the leaders attending the extraordinary summit in Brussels. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis will also be present at the summit.