The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance (NATO), Jens Stoltenberg, spoke at a press conference on the situation around Ukraine. The speech was broadcast on the alliance website.
< p>Screenshot: nato.int
Stoltenberg said that the alliance is «prepared for the worst», so NATO will increase its presence in the Baltic and Black Seas. According to the Secretary General, the US response force of 8.5 thousand people «if necessary» can be mobilized in Europe within a few days. He also called on Russia to «withdraw its troops» from Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova.
In addition, Stoltenberg named the areas in which he sees the possibility of cooperation with Russia: the resumption of the work of the alliance's representative office in Moscow and the Russian one in Brussels, and setting up a hotline to discuss security issues. Stoltenberg announced NATO's readiness to enter into a «real» dialogue on risk reduction and arms control.
The United States and the North Atlantic Alliance handed over their security proposals in Europe to Russia. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken clarified that the document reflects the theses that have already been voiced earlier — about concerns about Russia's actions in the field of security in Europe. According to the German agency DPA, citing sources in diplomatic circles, NATO's response «does not contain big concessions.»