North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has emphasized diplomatic efforts to resolve the ongoing Ukraine crisis.
Stoltenberg made the remarks Tuesday at a joint news conference with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit to the Tapa army base in northern Estonia.
He called for an immediate end to the war in Ukraine, the withdrawal of Russian forces and the start of diplomatic efforts, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
“In recent weeks, in response to the Russian attacks on Ukraine, we have increased our defense presence in the air, on land and at sea,” he noted.
There are “over 100 jets on high alert operating from 30 different locations and over 120 ships from the Baltic to the Mediterranean,” Stoltenberg said, adding that Britain, the US and other allies are sending thousands more troops to the eastern part of the country Mediterranean dispatch alliance.
“For the first time in our history we are deploying the NATO intervention force,” said the NATO chief, who described NATO as a defensive alliance that does not seek a conflict with Russia.
The second round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine could take place on Wednesday, the TASS news agency reported on Tuesday, citing sources.
The first round of negotiations, which lasted about five hours, ended on Monday in the Gomel region of Belarus without a clear breakthrough.
For his part, Johnson said he wanted to be “crystal clear” that “we will not fight Russian forces in Ukraine” and “our reinforcements, like the reinforcements here at Tapa, are firmly within NATO member borders.”
Regarding the number of reinforced troops, the British Prime Minister said: “We will always keep an eye on things.” He also described the “no-fly zone” for Russian planes over Ukraine as a very big step that “simply isn’t on the agenda of any NATO country.”
More than 900 members of the British Army’s Royal Welsh Infantry Regiment and nearly 200 Danish troops, along with their vehicles and equipment, will join NATO Battlegroup Estonia at Tapa Army Base, Estonian public broadcaster reported on Tuesday.
Estonian President Alar Karis met with Stoltenberg at Tallinn Airport earlier in the day.
Stoltenberg also traveled to Poland on Tuesday, visiting Lask Air Force Base.
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(Only the headline and image of this report may have been edited by Business Standard contributors; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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