The West has to prepare for a long war of attrition in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Thursday (06/02/2022) after speaking with US President Joe Biden at the White House. “We must prepare for the long term,” said the press in Washington. “Because what we see is that this war has now become a war of attrition.”
Stoltenberg warned that we must be prepared for a “long war of attrition” in Ukraine that can only end, he added, at a negotiating table. And when asked by the press, he did not want to speculate on the concessions that Ukraine would have to make to Russia if the time comes to negotiate. “It is up to them to make those tough decisions, our obligation is to support them. It is not up to us to decide what Ukraine should accept or not. We should help them,” he said.
On Turkey’s opposition to the entry into NATO of Sweden and Finland, he stressed that when an alliance member expresses his concerns, he must be listened to, address those concerns and find a solution from “unity”. He added that Turkey is an important ally that contributes to the alliance’s security “in many different ways,” noting that it maintains close contacts with both Ankara and the governments of the two candidate countries.
Stoltenberg already announced yesterday, after meeting with the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, that he intends to call a meeting in Brussels with representatives of Sweden, Finland and Turkey in the coming days to resolve Ankara’s veto on the entry of the countries. Nordic countries to the Atlantic Alliance ahead of the NATO summit in Madrid at the end of the month.
lgc (efe/afp)