NATO Secretary General, German Chancellor discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. NATO says it has the responsibility to prevent conflict from escalating further. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says NATO is determined to prevent the conflict between Ukraine and Russia from escalating further. And German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says "NATO will not intervene military in this war." The two met in Berlin. In their joint news conference, Stoltenberg said it would become more dangerous and cause more suffering, deaths and destruction if the conflict escalates.
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a ceasefire in Ukraine during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, a German government spokesperson said.
In their nearly hour-long conversation, Scholz also stressed that the humanitarian situation needed to be improved and progress needed to be made in finding a diplomatic solution as soon as possible, said the spokesperson.
Germany's Scholz signals support for any Finnish NATO bid.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday he welcomed any interest shown by Finland in joining NATO, a question that has gained more urgency since Russia invaded Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine has prompted a public debate in neutral Finland, which shares a long land border with Russia, on whether to join the U.S.-led NATO alliance.
Asked at a news conference with the Finnish prime minister whether Germany would support Finland if it decided it wanted to join the defence alliance, Scholz said there was already cooperation between Finland and NATO.
"The wishes that Finland brings to us and the alliances that we are involved in are always very welcome," said Scholz, adding nothing more concrete.
Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said her country was reviewing the matter, a move announced earlier this month.
"It is possible that Finland will look to join NATO," said Marin.
She urged Germany and other countries to stop financing Russian President Vladimir Putin's war by ending the purchase of fossil fuels from there.
"That has to stop... I am sure that Germany and other member states of the European Union are trying to find other ways," she said.
Scholz, who repeated his call for Putin to end the war in Ukraine and pull out Russian troops, reiterated that Germany was looking at reducing its dependency on Russian oil and gas.
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg thanked German chancellor Olaf Scholz for his strong personal commitment to NATO and Germany’s leading role in the Alliance during a visit to Berlin on Thursday (17 March 2022).
Standing next to Chancellor Scholz ahead of talks that focussed on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Secretary General paid tribute to the Ukrainian people and their armed forces. “Their courage and determination are an inspiration to us all”, he said, reiterating that Ukraine has the right to defend itself. “I commend Germany for providing Ukraine with many different types of support – military, financial, and humanitarian” Mr Stoltenberg said, praising Germany for welcoming more than 100,000 Ukrainian refugees.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion, NATO has reinforced its presence in the eastern part of the Alliance and Mr Stoltenberg welcomed the contribution made by Germany, citing the deployment of additional troops to Lithuania and fighter jets to Romania. “This is part of NATO’s swift, decisive, and united response to this fundamental change in our security”, he said.
Recalling that NATO Defence Ministers on Wednesday directed military commanders to draw up detailed options to further reinforce deterrence in the alliance’s eastern flank, the Secretary General stressed that new deployments will require major increases to defence spending by Allies. “Germany is leading the way”, the Secretary General said, citing the government’s decisions to increase defence spending to 2 percent of GPD and to purchase fifth generation fighter aircraft.
During his visit to Berlin, the Secretary General also met with Finance Minister Christian Lindner, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht, and senior parliamentary leaders.
