NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that in order to establish a stable peace in Ukraine, Western countries should continue to supply weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
He said this during a speech at the Wilson Center for Scholars in Washington, DC.
"The greater our long-term support is, the sooner Moscow will realise that it cannot sit on us, and the sooner the war will end. It may sound like a paradox, but the way to peace is to get more weapons for Ukraine," Jens Stoltenberg said.
The Secretary General also noted that NATO will continue to guide Ukraine towards membership so that the country can join when the time comes.
At a recent meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels, the bloc approved a plan to increase its involvement in supplying Ukraine with weapons and training for the Ukrainian armed forces.
However, NATO countries have not yet agreed on Stoltenberg's proposal to allocate $40 billion annually for Ukraine's defence. They also demand more precise wording on the prospect of Ukraine's accession to NATO.
These issues are expected to be agreed upon before the NATO Summit in Washington in July.
In his speech, Stoltenberg also said that China must face the consequences of its decision to support Russia, as the country also seeks to maintain good relations with the West.
"Beijing cannot have it both ways. At some point, if China doesn't change its behaviour, its allies will have to make it pay. There must be consequences," he said.
According to Western countries, Beijing continues to supply Russia with goods used for weapons production. Chinese representatives also ignored the conference on a peaceful settlement in Ukraine held this weekend in Switzerland.
Background. Earlier, Stoltenberg said that the Alliance is negotiating the deployment of more nuclear weapons amid threats from Russia and China. In his opinion, the bloc must show the world its nuclear arsenal.