“It’s Not for Russia to Decide”: NATO Chief on Ukraine’s Security Troops

It’s not for Russia to decide if Ukraine can have foreign troops as security guarantees, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said at the IISS Prague Defense Summit on September 4, The Guardian reports.

“But why are we interested in what Russia thinks about troops in Ukraine? It’s a sovereign country. It’s not for them to decide,” Rutte said.

“Russia has nothing to do with this. Ukraine is a sovereign nation. If Ukraine wants to have security guarantee forces in Ukraine to support the peace deal, it’s up to them. Nobody else can decide about it,” he continued.

Rutte also mentioned that Europe should not be naive about Russia’s destabilising, confrontational force, according to The Guardian.

He highlighted the rapid military build-up by Russia and China, saying both countries are “investing heavily to build up and modernise their militaries” at “a remarkable, I might say, staggering rate.”

Rutte noted that this equipment is being deployed against Ukraine, and while NATO is “working to end this aggression as quickly as possible,” Europe should not be naive about the future.

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“This trend is not going to shift or reverse anytime soon. Russia is, and for the foreseeable future will remain, a destabilising and confrontational force in Europe and the world,” he said.

Previously, Mark Rutte has warned that allies cannot feel safe simply because they are not in direct geographical proximity to Russia, stressing that distance is irrelevant in the era of modern missile technologies, according to Ukrinform correspondent on September 2.

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