“NATO is not a party to the conflict. We will not be drawn into Putin’s war“. This was stated by the secretary general of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, replying to the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, who accused the United States and NATO of participating directly in the conflict in Ukraine with the supply of weapons and training of the military.
“As winter approaches, Russia is bombing Ukraine’s energy infrastructure” with the aim of “freezing and starving Ukrainians,” Stoltenberg continued during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. According to the NATO chief, “Putin is using winter as a weapon and we can’t let him win“.
As for sending the air defense systems Patriot from Germany to Ukraine, it’s still too early for reaching a shared solution in the talks between Poland and Germany, explained Stoltenberg.
“We all agree on the urgent need to help Ukraine, including with air defense systems,” said the NATO secretary, however, “it is important to understand that it is not just about providing new systems, but also about ensuring that the systems already delivered can work” and therefore need “ammunition, spare parts and sufficient maintenance“.
