Stoltenberg: NATO should drop Ukraine weapons rules | DW News

foreign Ministers of NATO are meeting in Prague with military aid for Ukraine at the top of the agenda US Secretary of State Anthony blinkin is among those gathered in the Czech Capital as the US faces increasing pressure from allies over restrictions that prevent Ukraine from striking targets with Western weapons inside Russia ahead of the meeting NATO Secretary General Yin Stenberg said it was time for NATO members to reconsider whether their weapons could be used to hit Beyond Ukraine’s borders I believe that the time has come uh to consider some of these restrictions to enable the ukrainians to really defend themselves Russia invaded another country invaded Ukraine and Ukraine has according to international law the right to defend themselves it’s enshrined the UN Charter and the right for self-defense includes also uh striking military targets legitimate military targets out outside Ukraine well our Brussels bureau chief Alexander phenoman she joins me now from Prague Alexander it’s good to see you we heard Yen Stenberg speaking there so I’m wondering is it just a matter of time before NATO changes its stance over weapons and how they can be used by Ukraine in the war against Russia well Bren I think that the pressure is certainly growing on allies to uh agree on that we heard from Yan Stenberg and I think his position and the position of his staff at NATO headquarters is very clear on that that Ukraine has every right to defend itself and that it also includes uh attacking legitimate military Targets on the Russian territory and we heard from Yen stman quite a quite a passionate plea he argued that it cannot be that the Russian troops are sitting just cross the border so actually on the front lines and they are launching their attacks from that point from their military basis there and Ukraine is not allowed to use Western made long range weapons to attack those positions however we also have to say that he is urging allies to reconsider the limitation restrictions but NATO is not providing weapons to Ukraine it is up to individual allies to decide what kind of weapons they are providing and whether there are any restrictions on the use of those weapons and there are some members of The Alliance first foremost of course the US and Germany who are very skeptical when we talk about the usage of the western made weapons in Ukraine yeah we we have heard that from the US president from the German Chancellor that that we don’t want to do anything that would escalate this conflict so what about that risk I mean Russia has made it clear how it views arms that strike its territory as a total escalation that is what the Kremlin is saying the Kremlin is uh threatening the West that the conflict could escalate and of course there is a real risk uh for Germany but also for other allies especially for the US they don’t want to be dragg into a direct conflict with Russia however we also have to say that over the course of this war in the last two years we have seen that individual allies uh change their strategy and kind of Aid that they were um willing to provide to to Ukraine we had the discussion about Western Mage tanks uh they were then provided to Ukraine we had the discussion about whether it is okay to provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets now Ukrainian uh Pilots are being trained on those fighter jets and they will be provided to Ukraine so we cannot uh rule out that uh The Stance of some still skeptical allies with regards to the questions uh what kind of attacks Ukraine uh Ukraine can use the Western made weapons for that they also can change their stands on that question DW’s Alexandra phenomen with that beautiful Skyline there Prague behind you Alexander thank you thank you well to be us back is a member of the bundestag Foreign Affairs committee for the greens uh which is part of Germany’s governing coalition government welcome to DW Mr Bala um do you back the secretary General’s call for NATO countries to allow Ukraine to use their weapons to hit Targets in Russia uh yes good evening and yes I do um and I’m not alone with that uh last weekend in sopia the NATO PA the parliamentarian assembler met assembly of the NATO met and uh with their within their declaration we stated or within our declaration we stated very clearly after the after Mr Stenberg explained basically the current issues and the current situation to us as well um very clearly within our declaration it was stated that to support Ukraine in its International right to defend itself we should lift some restrictions on the use of weapons provided by the NATO allies to strike legitimate Targets in Russia and as an member of NATO pa um I have to outline that this declaration was voted on with only one single vote against it of one single member of the PA and so of course I do support this current uh yeah debate or the the this the situation in the situation what he saying what then do you say to people who say that Germany would risk being drawn into a wider war in Ukraine under those circumstances we delivered weapons to Ukraine to defend themselves and yes we do that because we believe that Ukraine is not only fighting against a aggressor um but also for freedom and for European Freedom as well but the moment we deliver those weapons those weapons become Ukrainian weapons and Ukraine is a state attacked by a foreign aggressor and therefore backed by international law they are out to defend themselves and defending thems also means being able to strike military targets that are used to attack Ukraine and I think can I just jump in there because the answer you’ve given me is pretty much the same one you gave me in your your first answer so just to go back to let me just repeat the question for you because uh people will say that Germany risks being drawn into a wider war in Ukraine if it allows uh German weapons to be used to strike Uh Russian targets which is not now the case so what would be your response to them about why Germany should remove those restrictions those are not Germans German weapons anymore we deliver them we provide them but they become Ukrainian weapons this is important distinguishing or important to distinguish that within international law and the other thing I really want to outline towards those people is to understand what’s happening in Ukraine and the videos and and the horrific pictures we saw on the weekend from Kaki where civilian infrastructure and civilian people were stried um and and many people died actually I think those pictures outline what’s actually at stake and then you have the situation on the front line and I know and I’m very very glad about the check initiative to to gather ammunition but the first are the first of those ammunitions are going to be delivered in June if everything goes as well there is a very dire situation in the front line so there is a need to be able to defend themselves for ukrainians in every way they can and I think very important to understand this is not about and when Russia says it would regard the use of U of uh uh weapons provided by NATO countries to strike at its territory as an escalation that’s a risk you’re happy to take this is not backed by international law Russian Russia is well that’s kind of neither here nor there is it invading other countries is by international law it this sounds like a risk that you are prepared to take there is a risk of Russia deciding to attack other countries just by deciding to do so and drawing lines that Russia is thinking of now is just the same situation it’s a decision by Russia when they say now we want to attack a certain country and they did that with Ukraine and I am pretty sure they are currently focused on Ukraine and therefore I think our efforts must remain on supporting Ukraine as well and of course they can try to threat us but we need to understand this war they’re fighting there is a threat itself to the whole International Community and to Europe especially and this threat is ongoing this is not a single point where escalation is suddenly becoming a threat to Europe this war is a threat to Europe and we need to understand that so drawing now another line from Russian perspective won’t change that they already threatened us and that they’re currently every single day threatening us with this aggression on Ukraine and I take that very serious but I do also understand we need to well support those who are fighting against it that’s that’s clear thank you for outlining your position so clearly Thomas Bacha of the greens party thank you thank you

NATO foreign ministers are meeting in Prague, with military aid for Ukraine in focus. US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, is among those gathered in the Czech capital, as the US faces increasing pressure from allies over restrictions that prevent Ukraine from striking targets in Russia. Ahead of the meeting, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said it was time for NATO members to reconsider whether their weapons could be used to hit beyond Ukraine’s borders.

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37 comments

  3. I'm happy to risk Russia being shown to be lying again, at every chance I get.
    Communist, Lenin rode around in a Rolls Royce.
    Red line.
    Every one of them has been crossed.
    "It'll be an escalation."
    So, they are waiving China's military around then, yeah, liars.

  4. Well poined out. Weapons are donated, they are the property of Ukraine. They do what they like with them. Thats the way.

  8. Really mother Russia should give IRAN the Russia types of weapons the way western nations are giving Ukraine weapons , that alone would change everything , changing western NONSENSES cause Oil and gGas price to be unstable and western hegemony to surely Collapse without Any Delay !!! .

  9. Russia has a right to defend itself
    Dictators of the world they always think that we are fools , they're doing all these evil acts to distract BRICS

  11. We should have let go of Ukraine a long time ago, stopped canvassing it for EU and NATO membership. It’s not naturally in the west, the same way as you might say Poland, Hungary or Chechia are, and Russia clearly has strong feelings on that, seeing themselves in Ukrainians much. It does matter what closely situated countries, in terms of geography, culture, language etc., feel. The tragedy of Europe has been confrontational alliances. It’s what started the First World War. So much for the argument that the EU and NATO have provided peace and stability for nigh on seventy years.

  13. Those restrictions are nonsense from the beginning. You can´t wage ware and win it, if you can´t use the weapons on enemy territory. It is like giving Soviets weapons, and say they can´t use them in German territory. What is there to escalate in a full blown war? Russia invests everything it has, except a full mobilization. It already has a wartime economy.

  17. THE AMERICANS ISRAEL BACKED MEDIA HOUSES CAN NOT BEFOOL EVEN THEIR OWN PEOPLE AS IT IS EVIDENT FROM STUDENTS RESPONSE FROM AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES ON GAZA AGGRESSION OF ISRAEL.
    THE SAME IS APPLICABE TO THE REST OF THE WORLD .
    INFACT AMERICAN POLICY MAKERS ARE STILL LIVING IN OLDAGE WATERS IGNORING THAT RUSSIA CHINA AND EVEN INDIA ARE COMPAREABLE TO AMERICA AND IT IS NOT POSSIBLE AT ALL TO DICTATE THESE EMERGING RECOGNIZED POWERS TO COMPLY WITH AMERICAN DICTATIONS FOR AMERICANS .
    GOOD BY TO AMERICANS MONOPLY ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😂😂

  18. Ukraine 🇺🇦 will run out of soldiers. They need to pick up the pace, best way is to take limitations off their weapons. Also, and this is by no means a endorsement of the democratic warfare strategies but why isn't the US supplying A10s? Its supposedly very effective… honest question

  21. All is normal. Russia gets weapons from North Korea and Iran and possibly China and Ukraine gets some weapons from some NATO countries and some from the US.

  22. The modern anti-aircraft and missile complex are so complex that they need specialists who have been trained for years for property military work. So all specialists in such complex are NATO soldiers and officers.

  27. They’re going to keep saying “this is a threat to Europe” until it becomes true. You pissed away every opportunity at peace just so you can fight the Russians and have another vessel state.

  28. Whats the end game here? Sanctions havent worked, the game changing leopard tanks havent worked. This is just a US proxy agenda to cripple Russia at all costs, all backed up by the puppets in Europe. Where are the Nato sanctions against Israel for the barbaric murder of innocent women and children? Instead the US and Germany supply the weapons to Israel. The double standards are laughable.

  29. Keeping stirring a war is unwise and not towards peace.
    Ukrainians are being used, those who support wars should go themselves to whatever front it is and taste it.
    This whole thing is foolish, from all sides.

  32. Deserves the resignation of Joe controversy illegal constellation conspiracy satellites Biden closing the Ramstein base in Germany leaving gone home usa.

  33. Deserves the resignation of the novice, amateur, adolescent, corruption, atrocities unlawful, embezzlement, bribes, treason Zelinsky.

  35. Our Dutch defense minister said our F16's can be used anywhere in Russia. Time to buy factor 200.000 sunscreen. What do you think happens if they attack the Kremlin with Dutch F16's…

  36. The restraint of the Russian Federation until today is remarkable. It seems that they only want to play the card of "Massive Destruction in Ukraine" in the event of an attack from Ukraine on Russian territory with our weapons! A sort of "Apocalypse Now" scenario. Slavic haters might rejoice over this, but not me.
    So far, the number of dead and seriously injured in the non-combat areas of Ukraine has remained very limited, despite contrary reports from our media. During the same period, there has been much more destruction, suffering, and civilian casualties (including children) in Palestine.

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