Conflicts & War

Nato chief calls for ‘more support, heavier weapons’ for Ukraine

Davos, Switzerland, Jan 18 (EFE).- Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday called for more heavy and modern weapons to be sent to Ukraine.

Stoltenberg was taking part in a panel at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos ahead of a gathering in Germany this week of Nato’s contact group for the defense of Ukraine.

“The main message will be more support and more advanced support, heavier weapons and more modern weapons because this is a fight for our values, this is a fight for democracy, and we just have to show that democracy wins over tyranny and oppression,” Stoltenberg said during a panel discussion on security and peace.

The meeting in Germany, chaired by US defense secretary Lloyd Austin and attended by Ukrainian defense minister Oleksii Reznikov, will focus on Nato countries and partners addressing Kyiv’s needs in terms of weapons, ammunition and other military equipment.

The Norwegian politician said that the priority is to ensure that Ukraine “wins the war” and prevails as a sovereign, independent and democratic state, which is why the allies are providing it with “unprecedented” military support.

“And that is why I am traveling around to Nato capitals and calling on them to do even more,” he added, while welcoming the commitment to provide Ukraine with battleships and more air defense systems by allies such as Canada, Poland and the United States.

The Nato chief re-emphasized that it is “extremely important that (Russian) president (Vladimir) Putin doesn’t win this war”, because “then the message to authoritarian leaders is that when they use brutal force, when they violate international law, they achieve what they want. It will make the world more dangerous and us more vulnerable,” he said, adding that “weapons are the way to peace.”

Stoltenberg warned that underestimating Russia would be “very dangerous”.

“They have mobilized 200,000 more troops. Putin has demonstrated a will to just sacrifice thousands and thousands of young Russian soldiers. They are now acquiring more weapons from authoritarian regimes, including Iran, and they are planning new offensives,” he said.

According to Stoltenberg, “the only way” to have a negotiated settlement to end the war is “to convince president Putin that he will not win on the battlefield.”

“He has to sit down and negotiate. Nobody knows how this war will end; most likely it will end around the negotiating table. But what we do know is that what happens around that negotiating table is totally dependent on the strength on the battlefield,” he explained, adding that “if we want Ukraine to prevail, they need military strength.” EFE

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