Deputy Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Mircea Geoana says that for the time being, the Russian Federation does not seem to be slowing down in its intention and mobilization of resources to continue the war in Ukraine.
He voiced his fears on Saturday that President Vladimir Putin will "persevere in error" and that the conflict in Ukraine will probably last a few more weeks.
"The conflict will last a while longer. That is, we have information, we assess ourselves, we anticipate things and we have ..., you have noticed how accurate we are and how well we anticipate things. I can't say how long it will last, because it depends on a lot of factors, including economic ones, the pressure of sanctions, the pressure of the public opinion, but we will probably have a few more weeks of conflict and I am afraid and we are afraid and we are looking with great concern at the human victims, at the fact that we now have some 3 million Ukrainian refugees, the number is likely to increase. There are also 6.5 million people internally displaced in Ukraine today, the number will most likely rise, we hope that in the end, a diplomatic and political formula will be possible, but for the time being we do not see a slowdown on the part of the Russian Federation in the intention and mobilization of resources for the continuation of the war. It means continuing a quite serious strategic mistake made by President Putin, we are afraid that he will persevere in error," Geoana told private broadcaster Digi 24.
The NATO Deputy Secretary General once again conveyed to the Romanian citizens the confidence that the North Atlantic Alliance will be careful not to turn "an already very, very brutal and bloody conflict into an even bigger conflict between NATO and the Russian Federation."
"You spoke about the NATO Summit next week. Our leaders will obviously discuss how we can continue to support Ukraine - and we will support it- , being very careful not to turn an already very, very brutal and bloody conflict into an even bigger conflict between NATO and the Russian Federation, and I would like Romanians to have the confidence that we know how to keep this balance between continuous and real support for Ukraine, so that it can defend itself. This is in line with international law, because the right to self-defense is enshrined in the UN Charter, so it is something we are doing in compliance with the international law," said Mircea Geoana.
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