The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) announced that it will hold an extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels on Friday (4) to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
The military alliance had already decided to strengthen its eastern flank, although it was expected that there were no plans to engage militarily in the conflict provoked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On Tuesday, during a visit to Poland, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia’s attack on Ukraine was “totally unacceptable” and blamed Belarus for allowing Russian forces to use its territory to launch the invasion.
According to Stoltenberg, Russian President Vladimir Putin “destroyed peace in Europe and the allies condemn the brutal and unjustified invasion of Ukraine.”
Stoltenberg had announced on Friday that the coalition had activated its response units, with soldiers and equipment, to bolster defenses on the eastern flank.
So far, NATO has rejected pressure to impose a no-fly zone on Ukraine, claiming that such a move could drag the alliance into open military conflict with Russia.
“We will have to accept that this will involve shooting down Russian planes,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday during a visit to Estonia. “It’s a very big step that is simply not on any NATO country’s agenda.”
