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"Turkey[/B] is a valuable ally of NATO", NATO Secretary General Jens Stoldenberg said, adding that he "appreciates Turkey's diplomatic efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war".
The NATO Secretary General who is in Turkey for the Antalya Diplomatic Forum met with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and made statements to the Turkish Anadolu news agency.
In his remarks, Jens Stoldenberg said that "Turkey is a very valuable ally. Turkey contributes to NATO's collective defense in many different ways."
Jens Stoltenberg said Turkey had made very important contributions to NATO missions such as those in Kosovo and Iraq and had participated in NATO missions by sending planes and ships to many other areas. Describing Russia's attack on Ukraine as an unjust and unjustifiable war, Jens Stoltenberg said that no brutality had been seen in Europe since World War II. "We call on Russian President Putin to end the war, withdraw his forces and engage in diplomatic efforts," Jens Stoltenberg said."
About the meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba yesterday at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, Jens Stoltenberg said: "I also appreciate Turkey for its efforts to facilitate diplomatic and political processes that can lead to a peaceful solution."
Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO has a responsibility to ensure that the war in Ukraine does not cross the country's borders and therefore will not be part of this conflict. "We are focused on making sure that this war does not get worse, that it does not go beyond the borders of Ukraine. Because that will mean more pain, more civilian casualties, more deaths and destruction. That is why we are not sending NATO soldiers into the field and planes into the airspace. I understand your frustration in Ukraine. But I also believe that an escalation beyond Ukraine's borders will lead to more suffering, more deaths. Therefore, we will not get directly involved in the war," he said.
The NATO Secretary General said that a no-fly zone had previously been declared in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Libya, but the situation in Ukraine is different. "The imposition of a no-fly zone does not just mean the declaration of a no-fly zone. Military force is used to enforce the no-fly zone. In this case (in Ukraine) it would mean massive air strikes by NATO against Russian air defence systems. And this does not only apply to Ukraine. It also applies to Belarus and Russia. It also means a direct confrontation with Russian planes. This will probably mean a large-scale war between NATO and Russia. The result is more civilian casualties than what we are seeing in Ukraine right now. There will be much more destruction," the NATO Secretary General said.
Source: CNA
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