nato secretaries-general do not normally attack the policies of the alliance’s biggest and most important member country. But Jens Stoltenberg, whose ten-year stint in charge is coming to an end, has done just that.
In an interview with The Economiston May 24th, he called on nato allies supplying weapons to Ukraine to end their prohibition on using them to strike military targets in Russia.
Mr. Stoltenberg’s clear, if unnamed, target was the policy maintained by Joe Biden, America’s president, of controlling what Ukraine can and cannot attack with American-supplied systems.
Let Ukraine freely strike Russia with Western arms
– NATO chief Moscow has dismissed claims that Kiev’s war sponsors somehow restrict it from using donated weapons as “tricks”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has argued that members of the Western military bloc should let Ukraine freely use their weapons to launch strikes deeper into Russian territory.
“The time has come for allies to consider whether they should lift some of the restrictions they have put on the use of weapons they have donated to Ukraine,”Stoltenberg said on Friday in an interview with The Economist. “Especially now when a lot of the fighting is going on in Kharkov, close to the border, to deny Ukraine the possibility of using these weapons against legitimate military targets on Russian territory makes it very hard for them to defend themselves.”
Stoltenberg noted that some NATO members have already lifted restrictions on using their weapons to attack targets in Russian territory.
Asked whether he was referring to the US as the one major holdout, he said, “I think what we see now demonstrates the need to reconsider those restrictions, not least because we have fighting going on along the border between Russia and Ukraine.”
However, according to Moscow, the rhetoric about restrictions on the use of US munitions are false and designed to maintain the illusion that the West is not part of the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that US weapons, such as ATACMS missiles armed with cluster warheads, have already been used on attacks inside Russia, including strikes against civilian targets.
“We proceed from the fact that American and other Western weaponry strikes targets on the territory of Russia, primarily civilian infrastructure and residential areas,” he told reporters on Friday.
The NATO chief’s comments come at a time when Western leaders are making increasingly bold statements about attacks on Russian territory.
US President Joe Biden held back on sending long-range weapons to Ukraine in the early days of the conflict with Russia, citing concern over the possibility of triggering a wider conflict.
When more advanced weaponry was later approved, it came with strings attached, including a prohibition on hitting Russian territory.
However, as the New York Times reported on Thursday, views on those restrictions have shifted as Russian forces make battlefield gains.
After making a “sobering” visit to Kiev earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly began urging the administration to let the former Soviet republic use American weapons as it sees fit. A group of US lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin earlier this week, pressing him to give the Ukrainians the permissions they have requested.
Stoltenberg said he believes NATO members can thread the geopolitical needle by supporting Ukraine’s defense without becoming direct parties to the conflict.
“We provide training, we provide weapons, ammunition to Ukraine, but we will not be directly involved from NATO territory in combat operations over or in Ukraine,”he said.“So, that’s a different thing.”
Stoltenberg to take central bank helm in late 2022
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Also in charge of world's largest sovereign wealth fund
Appointment sets off hunt for new NATO chief
Cozy Relations:
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former prime minister of Denmark and a former secretary-general of NATO, is the author of“The Will to Lead—America’s Indispensable Role in the Global Fight For Freedom
He is currently hoping to get re-elected to become NATO's Secretary General once again
Rasmussen Global was founded in 2014 by Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Combining experience from the top decision-making level in Denmark, the EU and NATO, with a high profile across the Atlantic, Rasmussen Global is in a unique position to advise clients on transatlantic issues, international affairs and public policy management.
Our work with Ukraine Most recently, following Russia’s invasion, we have been conducting a pro-bono political campaign for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on long-term security guarantees for Ukraine. You can read more about the security guarantees in the Kyiv Security Compact. As the war rages on, Russia’s aggression has already caused some of the largest scale destruction on the European continent since WWII. Yet, when fighting will end, Ukraine is poised to become Europe’s biggest and most transformative reconstruction project. Given Ukraine’s land mass and the scale of the damage, the reconstruction efforts will require an unprecedented level of resources and capacity to manage a highly complex range of conflicting priorities and stakeholders.
The Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak and the Secretary General of NATO in 2009-2014 Anders Fogh Rasmussen held an online regular meeting of the International Working Group on security issues and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine.
The participants discussed the draft report of the International Working Group, which contains a detailed justification and specific proposals for Ukraine's future membership in NATO, ensuring sustainable peace and deterring the aggressor country.
The report will be made public in the near future.
Stoltenberg also reprimanded the Europeans for disrupting the supply of already promised ammunition.
Ukraine’s partner countries should cancel the ban on the use of their weapons for strikes on objects on the territory of the Russian Federation. This was stated by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in an interview with The Economist . As the publication notes, NATO secretaries general do not usually criticize the policy of the largest and most important member state of the Alliance – America. But Stoltenberg did exactly that: without naming the US directly, he made it clear who he was talking about.
“It is time for the Allies to consider whether they should lift some of the restrictions they have imposed on the use of weapons they have donated to Ukraine. Especially now, when much fighting is going on in Kharkiv Oblast, near the border, the ban on Ukraine using these weapons against legitimate military targets on the territory of Russia makes it very difficult for them to protect themselves,”said the Secretary General.
Stoltenberg emphasized that the Russians will continue to attack and gain certain territorial gains in the border area, regardless of losses. “We must remember what this is. This is Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Ukraine has the right to defend itself. And this includes striking targets on Russian territory,” Stoltenberg insists.
At the same time, the Secretary General criticized the inability of European countries to fulfill the obligations they have already assumed regarding the supply of weapons. “The European allies promised a million artillery shells. We haven’t seen anything close,” he said.
Stoltenberg admitted that NATO should avoid direct confrontation with the Russian Federation.However, he sees a difference between the supply of weapons and direct participation in hostilities. “We conduct training, we supply weapons, ammunition for Ukraine, but we will not take a direct part from NATO territory in hostilities over or in Ukraine. So this is a different matter,” he emphasized and added that NATO does not plan to send troops to Ukraine despite the public statements of the French president.
The West may lift the ban on strikes against the Russian Federation
As UNIAN wrote, since the first American deliveries of weapons to Ukraine, the White House forbade their use for strikes on Russian territory. However, according to the New York Times , the consensus around this policy is crumbling. Currently, there is an active debate within the president’s administration about easing the ban.
It is significant that this ban was criticized even by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, who blocked a new program of military aid to Ukraine for six months.
According to him , attempts to control Ukraine’s efforts “at the micro level” are “not a very good policy” for the United States.
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