“We have to be creative when it comes to helping Ukraine win this war against Russia,” claimed the Dutch Foreign Minister, Hanke Bruins Slotat the NATO meeting that concluded this Friday in Prague.
The renewed Russian offensive in Ukraine, with the opening of a new war front on Kharkiv, has created a new internal fracture in NATO. In a radical change of position, the United States and Germany have announced practically simultaneously that they will allow the Government of Volodymyr Zelensky attack Russian territory with the Western weapons that they are supplying it.
Washington and Berlin thus join other allies such as France, Poland, Denmark, Sweden and the Baltics. However, countries such as Italy, Spain and Belgium continue to maintain that the military aid they send to kyiv can only be used within Ukraine. A restriction that the Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajanijustifies because “we are not at war with Russia.”
[Veto de Hungría y sin Patriots: el apoyo de la UE a Ucrania se ralentiza en plena ofensiva rusa]
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, has once again called on Member States in Prague to remove all restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western weapons. A decision that is not collective, but rather each country has the final say regarding its military aid. “Ukraine has the right to self-defense. And that also includes right to attack legitimate military targets inside Russia“says Stoltenberg.
“This is even more urgent when we see that Russia has opened a new front. Now they have attacked again from the north towards the Kharkiv region. And the border and the front are more or less the same. They are attacking Ukraine with missiles, with artillery based inside Russia. And, of course, Ukraine must be able to fight back and defend itself,” she argued.
NATO Foreign Ministers, during their meeting this Friday in Prague
The Secretary General of NATO assures that the elimination of these restrictions will not aggravate the conflict. First, because Ukraine is acting “responsibly” and is limited to hitting military targets on Russian territory.
But above all because it considers that Russia is responsible for the current escalation. “It is Russia that has escalated by invading another country. And Russia escalated last week by opening a new front, attacking Ukraine from within Russia,” she said.
“Self-defense is not escalation. Self-defense is a fundamental right. It is enshrined in the UN Charter. Ukraine has the right and responsibility to protect its people. And we have the right to help Ukraine defend itself. It is clear that Russia does not like this, but it is not going to dissuade us“says Stoltenberg.
These arguments have not convinced the Government of Giorgia Meloni. “It is clear that we are not going to send any Italian soldiers to fight on Ukrainian territory. And our weapons cannot be used outside Ukrainian territory because Article 11 of the Constitution prevents it,” his Foreign Minister said in Prague.
“We are not at war with Russia. We are committed to defending, and we will do so with great determination, the independence of Ukrainian territory. The resistance of the Ukrainians, and therefore a situation of stagnation, will be what leads Putin to sit at the peace table. Because our goal is a just peace. And a peace that guarantees the independence of Ukraine from Russian influence,” Tajani alleges.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, talks with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, during the meeting this Friday in Prague
For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albaresensures that has not received any request from kyiv to use the weapons supplied by Spain against Russian territory. “The material we are delivering is material so that Ukraine can defend itself and defend the territory,” she stressed.
Also the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander de Croohas made it clear this week that the 30 F-16 warplanes that his country plans to deliver to kyiv can only be used on Ukrainian territory.
In contrast, the Government of Olaf Scholz has officially confirmed this Friday that it will allow Ukraine to use weapons supplied by Germany to defend itself against attacks launched from Russian territory against Kharkiv. “We are convinced that Ukraine has the rightguaranteed by international law, to defend against these attacks“said a spokesperson.
Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, and NATO head Jens Stoltenberg, during the meeting this Friday in Prague
For his part, the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, has confirmed that the Zelensky Government has asked them for permission to use US weapons on Russian territory and that President Joe Biden has granted it. “What we have done is adapt and adjust as necessary to what is happening on the battlefield,” Blinken argues.
“The important is comply with article 51 of the United Nations Charter. If you have the right to self-defense, there are no geographical limits when it comes to using weapons systems,” says the Netherlands Defense Minister.
“Poland has never imposed such restrictions. We wish Ukraine a victory and full recovery of the occupied territories. Ukraine has the right to defend itself according to the rules of humanitarian law,” explained Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski.
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