©(Photo by Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP)
As Sweden's flag is raised above NATO HQ, it shows that Putin has “failed” in his attempt at weakening the mutual defense organization, claims NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg on Monday.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that Sweden's accession to the alliance shows Russian President Vladimir Putin "failed" in his Ukrainian war strategy of weakening it.
The Kremlin's invasion not only prompted formerly non-aligned nations Sweden and Finland to come under NATO's defense umbrella, but now "Ukraine is closer to NATO membership than ever before," Stoltenberg said.
His comments, made next to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, came just before Sweden's flag was to be run up a flagpole outside NATO's Brussels headquarters in a ceremony sealing Sweden becoming the alliance's 32nd member country.
"When President Putin launched his full-scale invasion two years ago, he wanted less NATO and more control over his neighbors. He wanted to destroy Ukraine as a sovereign state, but he failed," Stoltenberg said.
"NATO is bigger and stronger," he said.
Stoltenberg added that he "didn't expect" to see Finland and Sweden join during his time as the alliance's secretary general.
Finland joined NATO last year, swiftly after applying.
Sweden's adhesion took longer as NATO members Turkey and Hungary held up the process. But Ankara in January and Budapest last week finally gave their formal assent.
Kristersson said Sweden now "will share burdens, responsibilities -- and risks -- with our allies".
"The security situation in our region has not been this serious since the Second World War, and Russia will stay a threat to Euro-Atlantic security for a foreseeable future," he said.
For Russians, Putin has framed his 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine as a defensive "military operation" against an expanding NATO.
The members of the US-led alliance have lent their military and financial support to Kyiv in its fightback. But momentum is slowing as US political will fractures and Europe struggles to meet Ukraine's ammunition needs.
On Ukraine or other countries wanting to join the alliance, Stoltenberg said that the "door is open".
"It's not for Russia to decide which path different European countries want to choose," he said.
With AFP
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that Sweden's accession to the alliance shows Russian President Vladimir Putin "failed" in his Ukrainian war strategy of weakening it.
The Kremlin's invasion not only prompted formerly non-aligned nations Sweden and Finland to come under NATO's defense umbrella, but now "Ukraine is closer to NATO membership than ever before," Stoltenberg said.
His comments, made next to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, came just before Sweden's flag was to be run up a flagpole outside NATO's Brussels headquarters in a ceremony sealing Sweden becoming the alliance's 32nd member country.
"When President Putin launched his full-scale invasion two years ago, he wanted less NATO and more control over his neighbors. He wanted to destroy Ukraine as a sovereign state, but he failed," Stoltenberg said.
"NATO is bigger and stronger," he said.
Stoltenberg added that he "didn't expect" to see Finland and Sweden join during his time as the alliance's secretary general.
Finland joined NATO last year, swiftly after applying.
Sweden's adhesion took longer as NATO members Turkey and Hungary held up the process. But Ankara in January and Budapest last week finally gave their formal assent.
Kristersson said Sweden now "will share burdens, responsibilities -- and risks -- with our allies".
"The security situation in our region has not been this serious since the Second World War, and Russia will stay a threat to Euro-Atlantic security for a foreseeable future," he said.
For Russians, Putin has framed his 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine as a defensive "military operation" against an expanding NATO.
The members of the US-led alliance have lent their military and financial support to Kyiv in its fightback. But momentum is slowing as US political will fractures and Europe struggles to meet Ukraine's ammunition needs.
On Ukraine or other countries wanting to join the alliance, Stoltenberg said that the "door is open".
"It's not for Russia to decide which path different European countries want to choose," he said.
With AFP
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