NATO Secretary General: ‘No Lasting Peace’ If Tyranny Prevails Over Freedom

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed the importance of supporting Ukraine, including with more weapons, in a speech to the Annual Conference of the Norwegian Confederation of Enterprises in Oslo on Thursday (5 January 2023). 

“Weapons are – in fact – the way to peace”, said Stoltenberg, adding: “there will be no lasting peace if oppression and tyranny win over freedom and democracy”. He stressed the need for Allies to invest more in defence, eliminate dependencies on authoritarian regimes, and to stand together to uphold freedom and democracy.

Specifically addressing Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Stoltenberg said that while the brutality has shocked many, “there is no reason to be surprised. We saw this war coming.”

According to Stoltenberg, the current situation in Ukraine, “is part of a pattern where Moscow uses military force to achieve its political goals,” citing brutality in Grozny, the invasion of Georgia, and the bombing of Aleppo.

The war in Ukraine did not start last February, Stoltenberg said. “It started in 2014 … With Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the attacks in Eastern Ukraine.”

Stoltenberg warned that if Putin wins in Ukraine, it will be a tragedy for the Ukrainians and the rest of the world, noting “it is also dangerous for us. The message to him (Putin) and other authoritarian leaders will be that if they use military force, they will get what they want. It will make us more vulnerable.”