NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said they had seen no indications on the ground about Russia’s credibility in negotiations with Ukraine.
This came at a press conference at the conclusion of an emergency meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Wednesday.
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He pointed out that the two parties agreed on the continuation of military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
He renewed NATO’s call to Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war, withdraw its forces from Ukraine and return to diplomacy.
Stoltenberg reiterated that NATO would not send troops to Ukraine.
In response to a question about the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, Stoltberg said that they had not seen any indications on the ground that reflected Moscow’s credibility.
“Therefore, we call on Russia to conduct negotiations in good faith,” he added.
He stressed that NATO is not a party to the negotiations, and that what Ukraine will achieve on the table is closely related to the situation on the ground.
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He considered that the support that NATO will provide to Ukraine will help it reach an acceptable result in the negotiations.
And on Monday, the fourth round of negotiations was launched via video communication technology, unlike the previous rounds.
The first and second rounds took place in Belarus, and the third meeting was between Russian Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Dmytro Kuleba in Turkey last Thursday.
On Ukraine’s membership in NATO, he stressed that the alliance will respect the decisions of the democratically elected government in this country.
He noted that the question of Ukraine’s membership or not depends on the will of the Ukrainians and the 30 members of the alliance.
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It is noteworthy that NATO will hold a leaders’ summit on March 24 in Brussels to discuss the developments of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, which was followed by angry international reactions and the imposition of “tough” economic and financial sanctions on Moscow.
To end the operation, Russia requires Ukraine to abandon any plans to join military entities, including NATO, and to adhere to complete neutrality, which Kyiv considers an “interference in its sovereignty.”
