NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated in Prague that it is time for alliance members to allow Ukraine to target Russian sites with the weapons they have provided.
Upon arriving in Prague, where a meeting of NATO foreign ministers was held yesterday and today, Stoltenberg said that Ukraine, as an attacked country, has the right to defend itself in this manner under international law and the United Nations (UN) Charter.
“Some NATO members have imposed restrictions on the delivered weapons, some have not, and those are national decisions. But, given that the war has evolved and is now being fought almost on the border, near Kharkiv, I believe it is time to lift those restrictions,” Stoltenberg emphasized.
He added that lifting the embargo on Ukraine, allowing it to target sites in Russia with Western weapons, would only reflect the changing nature of the war.
“Keep in mind that Moscow decided on this war and that Ukraine, in accordance with international law and the UN Charter, has the right to target military objectives outside of Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said.
At the informal meeting, the foreign ministers of the 32 NATO member countries strived yesterday and today to align their positions and find consensus on decisions in three areas for the alliance’s summit in July in Washington.
“The most urgent area is Ukraine. NATO members have provided unprecedented assistance and I think (Russian President Vladimir) Putin underestimated the courage and determination of Ukrainians to fight. He also underestimated the allies and our commitment to helping Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said.
The NATO chief, however, warned that this is not enough, as deliveries to Ukraine are delayed or there are pauses in approving assistance, and he added that he therefore proposes that the alliance engage more in coordinating this assistance.
“I also proposed a financing mechanism to make the assistance as transparent as possible and predictable for Ukrainians, so they know what they will receive. This sends a very important message to Moscow that we are here for the long haul,” Stoltenberg stated.
According to him, partners from the Pacific region will also be present at the summit in Washington, as Moscow’s “best friends” in the war against Ukraine are Iran, which supplies drones, North Korea, which supplies Russia with ammunition, and China, which helps the Russian military industry with electronic components.
“Russia would not be able to conduct the war against Ukraine without China,” Stoltenberg added.
One of the three main topics at the Washington summit, as well as at the ministerial meeting in Prague, is collective defense, for which NATO has been reducing expenditures for years in favor of overseas missions in Asia or the Balkans, but which was brought back into focus by Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
“We have doubled the battle groups, and increased readiness. The great transformation of NATO must continue because of Russia’s aggression. Allies must invest more. In the February report, 18 out of 32 members allocated two percent of GDP or more for defense. This is the best way to show that we are strengthening collective defense,” Stoltenberg concluded.
