Jens Stoltenberg: "If Putin wins in Ukraine, it would be a message for President Xi and what happens today in Ukraine can happen tomorrow in Taiwan"

If Vladimir Putin wins the war in Ukraine, it will be a positive message for Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding the actions that the authorities in Beijing are considering for the invasion of Taiwan, Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday in Brussels , the Secretary General of NATO, at the end of the meeting in which the defense ministers of the 31 member states decided to establish a joint analysis, training and education center for Ukraine, which will be based in Bydgoszcz, Poland.

Jens Stoltenberg noted: "This center will allow Ukraine to share lessons learned from the Russian war, it will be a structure for Ukrainian forces to learn and train alongside their allied counterparts. We will continue to stand by Ukraine, for the security of Ukraine and for our security. (...) Putin cannot win in Ukraine, because if he did, it would be a signal about NATO for Chinese President Xi Jinping to act in Taiwan. What happens in Ukraine today can happen tomorrow in Taiwan".

The Secretary General of NATO specified that during the meeting of the defense ministers, several representatives of the member states declared that they would deliver one million drones to Ukraine, and 20 of the member states announced that they would form a coalition that would take care of the necessary demining in that country.

Jens Stoltenberg also said: "At today's meeting, we discussed the preparation of the NATO Summit in Washington in July. Last year in Vilnius, we took major decisions to strengthen deterrence and defense. Today, we accelerated the procurement of our new defense plans and the strengthening of our transatlantic defense industrial base. But this requires investment and I am telling you that we are on the right track. I expect 18 allies to spend 2% of GDP on defense this year, which would mean that NATO member states in Europe will invest a total of $380 billion in defense. (...) We also discussed increasing ammunition production. In order to replenish our stocks and continue to support Ukraine, we must move from the slow pace of peacetime production to the high pace of production required by the current conflict. But to do this, producers need signed contracts. I remind you that in recent months NATO has agreed contracts worth ten billion dollars".

The Secretary General of NATO indicated that the military alliance continues to ensure that there is no room for miscalculations in Moscow regarding the readiness of NATO to protect all allies, and such a message is being sent these days in Europe by the military exercise Steadfast Defender, involving 90,000 soldiers from the 31 member states and Sweden.

Regarding former US President Donald Trump's statements regarding the creation of a two-tier NATO regarding the applicability of Article 5, which refers to common defense, Jens Stoltenberg said: "Article 5, which establishes the commitment to defend all allies and that an attack on an attack on one ally will be seen as an attack on all, is the central idea of NATO and of course applies to all allies. Any suggestion that we are not there to protect and defend all Allies will undermine the security of us all and endanger our soldiers, the personnel who are on the front lines to protect the entire Alliance. So one for all, all for one applies to all Allies and is the essence of NATO".

The head of the military alliance also said that the investments made in defense by the European members of NATO are not an alternative to NATO, but a way to strengthen the alliance that holds 50% of the world's economic power and 50% of the armed forces globally. He also referred to the discussions of the last few days in Europe regarding the need to create a nuclear arsenal on the old continent: "Regarding nuclear, let me just say that NATO has a nuclear deterrent and it has been working for decades. Of course, we should continue to ensure that this NATO nuclear deterrent remains secure and effective, and that we have agreed command and control procedures, doctrines as a joint effort with the United States and our European allies. We should do nothing to undermine that. This will only create more uncertainty and more room for miscalculations and misunderstandings. We should be committed to NATO's nuclear deterrent and do nothing to undermine that."

Regarding the NATO-Ukraine center that Poland will host, the Spanish daily El Pais stated last night that the new project, which will complement the EU's training mission and the programs that the allies already have them in place, will aim to support the authorities in Kiev not only in the military training of soldiers and personnel within the central authorities, but also to train them in the strategy and management of the defense administration.

The quoted source says: "The purpose of the new structure is to raise the level of support for Ukraine and help bring its forces up to NATO standards, with Kiev hoping to one day join the Alliance. According to the project being finalized by NATO, the new specialized center would offer more extensive training than that currently offered by the allies. The military organization already has a curriculum for civilians working in Ukraine's defense and security institutions. At the Brussels meeting, defense ministers from the 31 NATO member states debated how the new center would be financed and what the role of the instructors there would be. The latter will be stationed at the center where they will be sent by the member states for short periods, according to some diplomatic sources. The details of this project should be approved at the NATO Summit in Washington that will take place in July".

Regarding the support given to Ukraine by NATO allies, we point out that before yesterday's meeting, Sebastien Lecornu, the French Minister of Defense, said, according to AFP, that France will deliver 78 Caesar guns to Ukraine this year and mentioned that he met with European Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for defense issues, to examine ways to develop gunpowder and ammunition production capabilities in Europe. At the same time, according to a post on the official page on the X network (formerly Twitter), Bill Blair, the Canadian Minister of Defense, announced that his country will invest $60 million to train Ukrainian pilots who will operate and service the F16 fighter jets.

It remains for the decisions taken yesterday to be approved by the NATO Summit in Washington. Until then, according to Mr. Stoltenberg, NATO will monitor potential threats to allies to prevent and deter any type of aggression.