NATO Seeks Defeat of Russia

Nov. 22, 2022 (EIRNS)—NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, during a speech to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Madrid yesterday, made clear that NATO’s policy in Ukraine is the defeat of Russia, no matter what it costs Europeans or Ukrainians. “In our countries, many people face a cost-of-living crisis,” Stoltenberg said. “Energy and food bills are rising. These are tough times for many.”

“But the price we pay as NATO Allies is measured in money,” he went on. “While the Ukrainians, they pay a price which is measured in blood. And if we allow Putin to win, all of us will have to pay a much higher price. Authoritarian regimes around the world will learn that they can get what they want with brute force. This would have direct consequences for our security. It would make the world more dangerous. And us more vulnerable. That is the reason why we cannot allow President Putin to win in Ukraine.”

But Russia isn’t NATO’s only designated enemy, as the Madrid summit in June and the alliance’s new strategic concept made clear. While Europe is supposedly diversifying away from Russian oil and gas, “we need to be careful not to create new dependencies, most notably on China,” Stoltenberg asserted.

“We see growing Chinese efforts to control our critical infrastructure, supply chains and key industrial sectors. Chinese rare earth minerals are present everywhere. Including in our phones, our cars, and our military equipment. We cannot give authoritarian regimes any chance to exploit our vulnerabilities and undermine us. For this, it is essential that we boost the resilience of our societies and our infrastructure.”

On NATO expansion, Stoltenberg jacked up the pressure on Turkey and Hungary to finally approve the accession of Sweden and Finland to the alliance. “Finland and Sweden have delivered on their commitments,” he said. “They are strong partners in our joint fight against terrorism. So the time has come to finalize the accession process and to welcome Finland and Sweden as full members of NATO.”