Only Ukraine should decide when to start negotiations with Russia – Stoltenberg
Ukraine has to decide when to start negotiations with Russia and what result of these negotiations can be acceptable for Kyiv.
This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference in The Hague on Monday, November 14.
– Ukraine is paying the highest price in lost lives and destruction. It is Ukraine that will decide what conditions are acceptable for them. And we have to support them and maximize the acceptable result. If Ukrainians stop fighting, Ukraine will cease to exist as an independent state, if Putin and Russia stop fighting, then there will be peace,” he said.
He stressed that NATO Allies and partners support Ukraine’s right to self-defense.
– What Ukraine is doing is defending its country from an aggressive war. NATO and Allies are not a party to the conflict, but we support Ukraine’s right to self-defence. The right to self-defence is a right enshrined in the UN Charter. And we will not sit in Brussels or any other NATO capital and decide what is acceptable,” Stoltenberg said.
According to the Secretary General, Putin made several strategic mistakes during the invasion. In particular, the Russian dictator underestimated Ukrainians and NATO allies who demonstrated their readiness to support Ukraine.
Stoltenberg expressed his belief that the victory of the Russian Federation, which is unlikely, “will be a disaster for Ukrainians and will make the world more dangerous”.
