Stoltenberg reveals details of Russia's lying to NATO before invading Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (photo: Getty Images)
Russia lied to the Alliance in its last meetings with NATO before the invasion of Ukraine. The Russian side claimed that it had no intention of attacking, states NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
He clarified that the last meeting of the NATO-Russia Council under his chairmanship took place in January 2022, on the eve of a full-scale war in Ukraine.
According to Stoltenberg, Russia demanded that NATO withdraw all its troops from the eastern territory of the Alliance.
“This was absolutely unacceptable to us, but I believe in dialog. That's why we sat down with them again,” said the outgoing NATO Secretary General.
Stoltenberg added that the meeting was attended by two Russian deputy foreign and defense ministers. They claimed that Russia had no military plans and, moreover, that their country was under threat from Ukraine. The Russian side also provided maps, but they had a nuance.
“They showed maps, probably to prove that Russia is surrounded by NATO. But even these maps were wrong. For example, Denmark was not marked as a NATO territory at all. It was unbelievable,” Stoltenberg said.
The Secretary General added that he still does not know the reason for such maps, namely whether it was intentional or poor preparation of the Russians.
In an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Stoltenberg said that NATO could have armed Ukraine more to try to prevent a full-scale Russian invasion.
