NATO chief: Russia's victory in Ukraine would undermine alliance's strength

2025-01-23 17:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

NATO chief: Russia's victory in Ukraine would undermine alliance's

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte warned today that a Russian victory in Ukraine would undermine the deterrent power of the world’s largest military alliance and that it would take trillions of dollars to restore credibility to its sustainability. He made the comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The alliance, he said, must commit to changing the “trajectory of war” in Ukraine.

NATO is reinforcing its eastern border with Russia, Ukraine and Belarus in an effort to prevent Moscow from spreading the war to any of the alliance's 32 member states, and its Secretary General has urged member states to increase their defense contributions.

"We need to change the trajectory of the war, which is ongoing and so far, as you know, the front line is going in the wrong direction – it is going east. This is happening because of the Russian aggression in Ukraine. In the 21st century we cannot allow one state to invade another state and try to colonize it. Those days are gone, surpassed," said Secretary Rutte.

He made these statements as part of the proceedings of the World Economic Forum in Davos, from where he insisted that Ukraine's Western allies should increase their support for it in an effort to push back against Russia.

"The cost will be not additional billions, but additional trillions to restore NATO's deterrence power in the event that Ukraine loses the war. The cost will be much, much higher than what we are currently considering in terms of increasing our spending and industrial production (for defense)," he declared.

In Europe, concerns about the war in Ukraine are growing amid reports that US President Donald Trump may seek a quick end to the war through talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin under conditions that would be unfavorable to Ukraine.

Secretary Rutte warned against such a scenario.

"If we reach a bad deal, it will only mean that we will see the president of Russia celebrating with the leaders of North Korea, Iran and China, and that for us should be unacceptable. It would be a very big geopolitical mistake, a blunder," he added.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, NATO has called on its member states to increase their military budgets. According to alliance officials, 23 of NATO's 32 members are expected to meet the target of contributing 2 percent of their gross domestic product to defense this year. /VOA