BRUSSELS When to Jens Stoltenberg was offered the post of NATO Secretary General ten years ago, he asked his father for advice.
– Almost nothing happens in NATO, who previously participated in NATO meetings as Minister of Defense and Foreign Affairs Thorvald Stoltenberg said, and did not recommend a NATO career for his son.
– That time I didn’t listen to my father and ended up in NATO. It hasn’t been quiet, a lot has happened, good and bad, says Jens Stoltenberg.
Stoltenberg is finishing his season. Long-time Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte start in the position at the beginning of October.
– It has been a privilege to serve for ten years at the head of the world’s most important alliance.
Finland receives NATO troops and staff
The Russian attack on Ukraine and the war have marked NATO in recent years. Due to the war, Finland quickly became a member of NATO.
Stoltenberg has praised Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership many times.
As a new NATO member, Finland is also in high spirits. The headquarters of the Northern European ground forces is coming to Finland. In addition, decisions have been made to bring peacetime NATO troops to the front line.
Stoltenberg emphasizes that NATO forces increase deterrence in the direction of Russia.
Although Finland has a strong defense and well-trained troops of its own, the NATO troops strengthen confidence in the defense capability, says Stoltenberg.
– When NATO’s presence in Finland increases, we will remove the doubts and misinterpretations that Moscow has about NATO’s readiness to defend all allies, including Finland.
Putin must be persuaded to change his calculations
Stoltenberg emphasizes that NATO member countries have massively supported Ukraine.
– 99 percent of Ukraine’s military support comes from allies.
However, the willingness to support Ukraine is waning. For example, the German government has wanted to reduce the country’s own support for Ukraine. It is hoped that the support will be based even more on the use of Russia’s frozen revenues.
Many other countries are also tired of supporting Ukraine. All over Europe, extreme right-wing parties are emerging, some of which want to make friends with Russia.
Stoltenberg says that there are different weights of votes among the 32 democracies, but support for Ukraine has continued and even increased. The United States, Germany and Finland have also announced new support.
– We were worried when a new government came to Italy a couple of years ago, but Italy decided to continue and increase its support. The same thing happened in Holland after the election.
came to power in Italy Georgia Melon led by the far-right Italian Brothers party, and the Dutch elections were won by the far-right Gert Wilders With freedom parties. During the election campaign, Wilders threatened to end Dutch arms aid to Ukraine, but the support has continued.
Stoltenberg is sure that the allies will continue to support Ukraine.
– In order to guarantee our own security, we must ensure that President Putin does not win in Ukraine. Putin’s victory would be a tragedy for Ukrainians, but also dangerous for other European countries.
A defeat would send a message to Putin and other authoritarian leaders that using military force will get them what they want.
According to Stoltenberg, Putin must be shown that continuing the war will be expensive.
– We have to convince President Putin that he cannot win on the battlefield. I don’t think we can make him change his mind, but we can make him change his calculations.
Ukraine was supposed to lose the war in weeks
Ukraine has received support from NATO of around 40 billion euros per year. Thanks to it, Ukraine has been able to defend itself, but the support has not carried until victory.
According to Stoltenberg, more support should be given and it should be more predictable.
Ukraine has complained that the agreed aid does not arrive or that it takes a long time to arrive.
However, according to Stoltenberg, the support of the NATO countries has been of decisive importance.
– When the large-scale war began in 2022, most experts believed that Russia would conquer Kiev in a few days and Ukraine in weeks. That didn’t happen.
The Ukrainians have been able to liberate 50 percent of the territories that Russia controlled at the beginning of the war. They opened a passage to the Black Sea for the transportation of grain and other products. They are causing significant damage to the Russian military, the Secretary General enumerates.
Stoltenberg supports allowing the use of weapons
Western countries, especially the United States, are still restricting the use of the long-range missiles they gave to Ukraine against military targets in Russia. For fear that the country would become a party to the war.
– I am satisfied that the allies have reduced or are in the process of reducing restrictions, because Ukraine needs weapons for counterattacks, Stoltenberg says.
He emphasizes that according to international law, Ukraine has the right to defend itself.
– We have the right to support them without becoming involved in the conflict. The right to self-defense also includes the right to strike military targets on aggressive soil, in Russia.