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Former NATO Secretaries-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Lord George Robertson, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Javier Solana called for more aid to Ukraine in its confrontation with Russian aggression and more pressure on Moscow.
They made the remarks during a debate hosted by the Atlantic Council on “Alliance Determination: NATO’s views on Russian aggression in Ukraine.
The former secretaries discussed NATO’s political and military capabilities and what this alliance can do more to protect Ukraine and its people, strengthen Western resolve, and strengthen collective defense.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen said NATO allies need to do more to help Ukraine with more weapons.
“Ukrainians have the will to fight and we must give them the means to fight. “They are fighting for all of us, for freedom and democracy,” he said, noting that more could be done politically and not rule out any possibility.
Lord George Robertson and Javier Solana said more and faster could be done to help Ukraine.
“We need strong messages for the people of Ukraine that we are supporting them and will continue to do so and make it clear to the Kremlin that NATO is an alliance that does not recognize defeat and believes in Article Five and attacking one country. “It’s an attack on the whole alliance,” said Lord Robertson.
“Vladimir Putin’s failure is significant. He did not want Ukraine to join NATO. “Until the NATO meeting in Madrid, we can have two new members, Sweden and Finland,” said Mr. Solana.
A high-level NATO summit is being held in Madrid on June 29 and 30, with the aim of setting a tougher alliance course in the coming years.
Former Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the NATO summit should once again demonstrate an unprecedented form of solidarity. This is an aggression and should not be overshadowed by other problems.
“When you live in Poland or the Baltic states, the threat is felt differently than when you live in The Hague, Madrid or Rome,” he said.
The former secretaries praised the membership of Sweden and Finland, which decided to end their neutral stance after the Russian aggression in Ukraine.
On Tuesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said he welcomed the two countries’ membership, stressing that the alliance should also take seriously the concerns raised by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has vetoed their membership until these two countries to change policies in support of Kurdish militants that Ankara considers terrorists.
“There is no other NATO ally that has suffered more terrorist attacks than Turkey,” said Secretary Stoltenberg, adding that he was “pleased” that the Swedish government had confirmed its readiness to address Turkey’s concerns as part of obligations of future NATO membership ”.
Mr Stoltenberg’s predecessors called for increased pressure on Russia.
“It makes no sense on the one hand to help Ukraine with billions (dollars) in weapons and at the same time to pour billions of euros into Vladimir Putin’s suitcases,” said former Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
Former secretaries minimize the risk of Russia using nuclear weapons./VOA
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