NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said that the intergovernmental military alliance has no plans to deploy troops on the ground should Russia invade Ukraine.
“We have no plans to deploy NATO combat troops to Ukraine…we are focusing on providing support…there is a big difference between being a NATO member and being a strong and highly valued partner as Ukraine. There’s no doubt about that,” Stoltenberg said in a BBC interview when asked about NATO’s response if Russia invades Ukraine.
Stoltenberg had also called for diversifying its energy imports. “We are concerned about the energy situation in Europe because it demonstrates the vulnerability of being too dependent on one supplier of natural gas and that's the reason why NATO allies agree that we need to work and focus on diversification of supplies,” he said. Russia is Europe’s principal energy supplier and it has been accused of weaponizing gas to achieve geopolitical ambitions especially in the light of the ongoing Ukraine crisis.
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Stoltenberg recently highlighted the importance of diplomatic dialogue to achieve a political breakthrough between Russia and the Western bloc. “We are now reaching out to Russia once again to try to pursue a path of dialogue and find a political solution… But of course while we are hoping for and working for a good solution, de-escalation, we are also prepared for the worst,” he was quoted saying in an AFP report.
Russia has reportedly amassed over 1,00,000 troops at its borders with Ukraine. It demands a security guarantee from the U.S. that Ukraine will never be made a NATO member as well as rollback of NATO deployment from Eastern Europe back to pre-1997 levels. The U.S. Secretary of State said last week that America has responded to Russia’s demands but has refused the ban on Ukraine’s possible NATO membership. “"NATO's door is open, remains open, and that is our commitment,” Blinken reaffirmed.
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