NATO could have done more to prevent war in Ukraine - Stoltenberg

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine a "turning point" and believes the alliance could have done more to prevent the war.

He stated this in an interview with the German news outlet Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Ukrinform reports.

When asked what could or should have been done differently to prevent war, the politician replied: "It's a pity that the allies and NATO in particular did not do more to strengthen Ukraine earlier. If Ukraine were stronger militarily, the threshold for an attack by Russia would be higher. It is impossible to say whether it would have been high enough… Our training and equipment were quite limited. We could have done much more."

According to him, instead of strengthening Ukraine militarily, the allies were debating whether to supply sniper rifles. And the United States did not want to supply anti-tank missiles to Ukraine for a long time "so as not to provoke Russia."

"Now we are arming Ukraine for war, back then we could equip Ukraine to prevent war," Stoltenberg said.

Stoltenberg said he was not surprised when Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, 2022, because the intelligence services had warned about it. "But seeing it actually happen still shocked me. I realized that this was a turning point in our history: there is a Europe before that day and a different Europe after that day," Stoltenberg said.

He noted that after Russia's occupation of Crimea and part of Donbas in 2014, the situation remained static for a long time, despite almost daily fighting. When Russia deployed significant forces near the border with Ukraine in the spring of 2021, the allies "were not sure what that meant." But in the fall, as more detailed intelligence reports emerged about Russia's attack capabilities and intentions, NATO shared that information with the public -- partly to counter Russian propaganda and partly in the hope of diplomatically persuading Russia to abandon its plans.

Despite the futility of these efforts, Stoltenberg still believes in the possibility of dialogue.

"We must be strong to be able to conduct a meaningful dialogue... One thing is clear: in order to end this war, at a certain point there must be a dialogue with Russia again. But it should be based on Ukrainian strength," Stoltenberg said.

Stoltenberg has served as NATO secretary general since 2014. He will leave the post on October 1 this year.

Photo: Europa Press