Putin, under NATO-EU pressure, after signing the joint statement on combating Russian aggression
NATO and EU countries will extend sanctions against Russia's war allies. The heads of the European institutions, Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel, as well as the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Organization, Jens Stoltenberg, signed a joint statement on combating Russian aggression and support for Ukraine. Thus, according to the document, NATO and the EU will focus on Eastern Europe. And Putin got exactly what he didn't want, Stoltenberg said.
The European Union and NATO have established a common strategy of expansion, of neutralising Russian aggression and dictatorial regimes.
"We will keep the Kremlin under pressure with stinging sanctions for as long as necessary. We will extend these sanctions to those who support Russia militarily, for example, Belarus or Iran. And we will propose new sanctions against Belarus in response to the role it plays in Russia's war in Ukraine," said the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
"NATO must strengthen its presence in Eastern Europe. And it will have two new members: Sweden and Finland. Putin wanted less NATO, but got the opposite. He will have more NATO and more EU," said the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
Sweden and Finland are integrated into NATO structures and there is the security commitment of the United States, but the accession procedure has not been completed.
"It is inconceivable that Finland and Sweden would face any military threat without NATO reacting. I understand, of course, the importance of completing the accession process through ratification in both the Hungarian and Turkish parliaments, but I am confident that it will happen," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasises.
This is the third joint NATO-EU statement, but the first since Russia invaded Ukraine.
