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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declined to answer the question of whether Russia would push the potential use of chemical weapons during a NATO invasion of Ukraine to rethink the imposition of a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
“You seem to be saying that you still don’t have an answer to the question of how the use of chemical weapons will affect NATO’s position on Ukraine,” Meet the Press host Chuck Todd said Sunday morning in an interview with Stoltenberg.
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“Any use of chemical weapons will be a gross and flagrant violation of international law – a ban on the use of chemical weapons. At the same time, we know that Russia has already used poisonous substances in Europe before against its political opponents,” Stoltenberg said. Todd.
“So, this is something we take extremely seriously. But at the same time, again, we are not… we are very aware that we need to act in such a way that this conflict does not turn into a very bloody, ugly, terrible conflict in Ukraine to something that turns into a full-scale war between NATO and Russia in Europe,” he added.
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Todd asked if Russia would encourage the potential use of chemical weapons to encourage NATO to rethink imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine. Stoltenberg said the intergovernmental military alliance aims to protect the 1 billion people living in NATO allies.
NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg answered questions from reporters on Friday, March 4, 2022 (NATO)
“We do this by increasing our presence in the eastern part of the alliance. I also believe that no matter how this conflict ends now, we will face a new reality, a new security reality, where Russia is more openly challenging core security values and willing to use military force to achieve its goals. And so we need to reset our deterrence and defense,” he said, noting that the leaders will discuss this at a meeting in Brussels this week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called on foreign leaders to impose a no-fly zone over his country. However, Stoltenberg and other world leaders have so far balked at imposing a no-fly zone, citing the move as likely to escalate into a full-blown war in Europe.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky speaks from Kyiv, Ukraine during a virtual address to Congress on Wednesday, March 16, 2022, in this image from a video provided by the House of Television. (Home TV via AP)
“The only way to create a no-fly zone is to send NATO fighters into Ukrainian airspace and then enter that no-fly zone by shooting down Russian planes,” Stoltenberg said earlier this month. “We understand the desperation, but we also believe that if we did, we could eventually end up in a full-scale war in Europe.”
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The US is pursuing a policy rooted in the Cold War of eschewing direct, kinetic engagement with Russia. The no-fly zone could lead to direct military conflict with the country and could potentially escalate into World War III, pitting nuclear powers like the US, France and the UK against a nuclear power like Russia.