“Russia has gone a step further to break out of the arms control architecture that took us decades to build. That makes the world more dangerous today, and that’s why those of us who believe in freedom, in democracy, must stand together. “. With these words, the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, received the announcement by Vladimir Putin, who in his long-awaited speech in Moscow confirmed that his country would disengage from the New Start, the last nuclear disarmament treaty still in force between Russia and USA.
“We support the New Start and that is why we ask Russia to reconsider its decision. It is one of the few major arms control treaties that we have left. A few years ago Russia already violated and left the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty ) and now Start, which limits the total number of long-range weapons,” Stoltenberg lamented in an appearance at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, together with the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dimitro Kuleba, and the high representative for EU Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell.
“Today’s announcement is further proof that what Russia is doing is trying to demolish the security system built at the end of the Cold War. It is clear that we have to start thinking about what the security system of the future will be like, but for the At the moment we have to focus on maintaining aid to Ukraine. Today’s trilateral meeting is historic and a clear demonstration of unity. Support must be accelerated, ammunition today, other types of weapons tomorrow, to meet their needs. This format gives us better coordination tools to be efficient”, said the Spaniard.
Kuleba has come to Brussels looking for answers to three questions: “how to coordinate, how to make more weapons and how to deliver them to the battlefield as soon as possible”, and he leaves reasonably satisfied, according to his words. “We are aware that since February 2022 we are carrying out the largest logistics operation since World War II, but behind each declaration there are millions of issues that must be resolved. And the more coordination there is, the faster we will drive Russia out of our territory and it will be able to return peace to the Euro-Atlantic space”, he said, joking about the fact that in the future, when his country forms part of the two organizations, he will miss the trilateral meetings.
Ukraine has also asked NATO to bring forward to spring the annual forum that it celebrates with the Defense sector, “to put the industry, including ours, so that they connect and have synergies and cooperation (…) The capacity production is there, and delivery, but coordination is needed. You have to go quickly to accelerate victory, which is inevitable”, he insisted.
In his speech, the Secretary General explained that although no one expected Putin to announce a retreat, the scenario that is opening up is worrying, now that almost a year has passed since the invasion. “What we have seen today is that Putin is not preparing for peace but for more war and offensives and more mobilization and weapons. That is why support must be increased, it would be a tragedy for Ukraine and a threat to the rest if Russia wins. They are mobilizing more troops and talking to North Korea and Iran. And we are concerned that China is going to help,” he said.
The Chinese question is one of the most relevant and indecipherable at this time. NATO, under pressure from the US, has stressed the fear that Moscow will begin to receive military assistance now that it seeks to deepen its offensive, but both the EU and Ukraine itself have maintained a softer approach.
“I have a very good relationship with my Chinese colleague, from when we were both foreign ministers. We spoke in Munich and it was very clear. I cannot repeat his words, but his message is that they do not give weapons to countries at war. And for now, As far as I know, there is no evidence that they are doing the opposite of what they say”, said Borrell, who was the first, in the spring of last year, to point out, in an interview with this newspaper, that the mediation of China was essential for peace, with only Beijing able to make Putin sit down and listen.
Borrell’s message caused surprise and discomfort in a large part of Europe and in Washington, but now kyiv does not close the door on the possibility either. On the occasion of the first anniversary of the invasion, on February 24, the Chinese regime has announced an imminent speech by Xi Jingping with a proposal, which according to Bloomberg, would consist, among other things, of a ceasefire, but also of cutting off the shipment of Western weapons to Ukraine.
Wang Yi, who spoke with Borrell after his appearance at the Munich Security Conference, also traveled to Moscow this week. According to the more or less official version, he to reiterate that his country is not comfortable with a year of war and wants the fighting to stop. Or to define his help, according to the most critical view of the Pentagon.
At the German conference, Minister Kuleba also had the opportunity to hear the Chinese plan. “I appreciate the opportunity to exchange views with State Councilor Wang Yi. We agree that the fundamental principle of the United Nations Charter of territorial integrity is sacred to our two States. I reiterated that all initiatives aimed at restoring peace in Ukraine must be based on it,” the minister said on his Twitter account.
Today, in the public appearance, Kuleba has gone a little further, without closing himself off to the possibility, but asking for more clarity. “I met with the person in charge of diplomacy and he shared the elements of that peace plan. We are waiting to receive the text, because we cannot reach a conclusion after hearing some ideas. We need every detail. When we have the paper, we will examine it in depth and we will say what we think. President Zelenski presented ours, which contains 10 steps, is complete and offers a way out. For us it continues to be that formula and it is a total priority. The Chinese position… there is a common element for both that It is the principle of territorial integrity. All that China has done and will do in the context of aggression, putting words aside and looking at facts, is to uphold that principle. If a country endorses that destruction, the principle would be damaged and the The resulting message would be clear: anyone can do the same thing again on the global map,” Kuleba concluded.
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