Stoltenberg says NATO could have done more to prevent Ukraine war, FAS reports

14/9/2024 15:12

        NATO could have done more to arm Ukraine to try to prevent Russia's invasion in 2022, the outgoing head of the Western military alliance said in an interview released on Saturday.
        
        NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told German weekly newspaper FAS, "Now we provide military stuff to a war - then we could have provided military stuff to prevent the war."
        
        Stoltenberg pointed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's reluctance to provide weapons that Kyiv had asked for before Russia's full-scale invasion because of fears that tensions with Russia would escalate.
        
        After the war began, Kyiv, which is not a member of NATO, received one weapons system after another from its allies after initial hesitation.
        
        Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, will step down in October from his role at NATO, which he has held since 2014. Dutch former Prime Minister Mark Rutte was announced in June as the organisation's next boss.
        
        In the interview, Stoltenberg said an end to the war in Ukraine would be achieved only at the negotiating table.