Lask: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) Chief Jens Stoltenberg called on Russia on Tuesday to end the war in Ukraine and withdraw all its forces, adding the alliance would not send troops or combat jets to support Kyiv as it does not want to become part of the conflict. “The Russian assault is totally unacceptable and it is enabled by Belarus,” Stoltenberg said on Tuesday after meeting Polish President Andrzej Duda.
“NATO is a defensive alliance; we do not seek conflict with Russia. Russia must immediately stop the war, pull all its forces from Ukraine and engage in good faith in diplomatic efforts,” he added. “In light of Russia’s actions, we will draw all the necessary consequences for NATO’s deterrence and defence posture,” the statement said. According to it, the alliance’s members “have held consultations under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty.” “We will continue to take all measures and decisions required to ensure the security and defence of all Allies. We have deployed defensive land and air forces in the eastern part of the Alliance, and maritime assets across the NATO area,” the document noted.
A day earlier, during the EU’s extraordinary summit on Ukraine, a new package of anti-Russian sanctions which would be adopted by EU countries was announced. It is expected that the sanctions will involve Russia’s financial and transport sectors as well as the EU’s visa policy with regard to Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people “who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kyiv regime for 8 years.” The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported later on Thursday that Russian troops were not delivering strikes against Ukrainian cities.