Former NATO Ambassador and top Norwegian diplomat Kai Eide has reprimanded the bloc’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, warning that the situation with Russia is dangerous.
The retired diplomat said the situation between NATO and Russia must be handled with care.
He emphasized that while the language has been unnecessarily harsh from both sides, Moscow has a “traditional fear” of being surrounded by NATO. Therefore, the rhetoric must be toned down, he argued.
“We must reassure the Russians. Jens must change course and use the time he has left in NATO to calm the conflict. Words create suspicion, they mean something. Both sides have legitimate interests, and then we must find solutions that reflect both sides”, Eide told TV2, Sputnik reported on Thursday.
Eide believes the situation has become the most dangerous since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. He feels that NATO must take into account that Russia also has legitimate interests, in the same way that NATO and Ukraine have.
“There is no clear solution, it must be found, discussed, and it becomes difficult because both parties have gone too far. Now you have to sit down and negotiate solutions for all parties”, Eide told TV2.
Eide confronted Stoltenberg’s claim that the time of great powers having their own spheres of interest is over.
“When Stoltenberg says that there are no longer spheres of interest, this is wrong. Of course there are. And all major powers operate at all times with [a] sphere of interest policy. The US does, China does, Russia does. Let’s accept it and not pretend that we are in a world where this is not the case”, Eide told TV2.
While calling Russia’s “annexation” of Crimea in 2014 “unacceptable”, Eide also emphasized that Ukraine’s membership in NATO, which Russia called a red line, would lead to a sharp escalation of tensions throughout Europe, even touching Norway. Therefore, he urged Stoltenberg to change his style.
Source: Agencies
