Stoltenberg in Davos: Putin sacrifices tens of thousands of young people to achieve political goals

DAVOS/OSLO (VG) Jens Stoltenberg thanks allied countries for new tanks and heavy armored vehicles for Ukraine, and says he expects more contributions this week. He sees no sign of President Putin giving up the war.

– The war is now at a critical stage, and there are no indications that President Putin is preparing for negotiations or peace. On the contrary, he is preparing for more war, NATO Secretary General tells VG in the Alpine town of Davos.

Stoltenberg participated in a discussion at the World Economic Forum on Wednesday afternoon. He was in a hurry on Wednesday between meetings in Davos, and politely asked for coffee when he sat down with VG.

He says the message to the World Economic Forum is that the West must continue to support Ukraine with arms, and that this is the only way to end the war.

– If we want the war to end tomorrow, we must give arms to Ukraine today, says the NATO chief.

sacrificing young lives

– President Putin has shown his willingness to sacrifice thousands or tens of thousands of young people to achieve his political goals, he says and refers to the fact that President Putin has mobilized more than 200,000 new soldiers this winter.

– What Russia is trying to do now is to compensate in quantity for what it lacks in terms of quality, says Stoltenberg.

heavier weapons

On Friday, Stoltenberg will travel to the large US military base in the German city of Ramstein, where 50 allied countries are sending their defense ministers to a new meeting in Germany. US-led support group for Ukraine.

That would be the big topic Supplying Ukraine with heavier weaponsTanks and heavy armor.

– I welcome the fact that many NATO countries are now coming forward, declaring that they are ready to deliver armored vehicles and tanks to Ukraine. Today, Stoltenberg says, Canada has made a significant contribution of 200 armored personnel carriers.

France and Britain also announced heavy equipment for Ukraine.

pressure on Germany

Synchronized Increase pressure on Germany About giving the go-ahead to send German-made Leopard 2 tanks. Countries such as Finland and Poland have said they are willing to contribute to Leopard, but say they are waiting for permission from producing country Germany.

Boris Pistorius, 62, has been named Germany’s new defense minister, and takes office on Thursday. He is expected to make a clarification in Rammstein on Friday.

Do you want to pressure Germany to clarify that now?

Several countries said they would provide Leopard tanks. The Secretary General says that it is an issue that is now being discussed between NATO countries, and that it will certainly be a topic in Rammstein.

What is required to achieve peace negotiations?

There will be no negotiations until President Putin realizes that he cannot win the war on the battlefield. There were attempts at negotiations, but he did not want to respect Ukraine as an independent state.

– There is opposition to handing over weapons in some NATO countries. What happens if Ukraine does not get weapons from abroad?

Ukraine gets weapons. I’m confident there will be more contributions on Friday, Stoltenberg says.

He says he will repeat too The message he was carrying for the annual conference of the NHO In Oslo, to the business summits in Davos:

Financial decisions have consequences for our security. We have become dependent on Russian gas. We should not repeat this mistake with other authoritarian regimes like China, says Stoltenberg.