Stoltenberg Says NATO Could Have Done More to Prevent Ukraine War

NATO's outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (C) smiles as he meets Norway's Prime Minister (not in picture) at his residence in Oslo on September 6, 2024. (Photo by Thomas Fure / NTB / AFP)
NATO's outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (C) smiles as he meets Norway's Prime Minister (not in picture) at his residence in Oslo on September 6, 2024. (Photo by Thomas Fure / NTB / AFP)
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Stoltenberg Says NATO Could Have Done More to Prevent Ukraine War

NATO's outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (C) smiles as he meets Norway's Prime Minister (not in picture) at his residence in Oslo on September 6, 2024. (Photo by Thomas Fure / NTB / AFP)
NATO's outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (C) smiles as he meets Norway's Prime Minister (not in picture) at his residence in Oslo on September 6, 2024. (Photo by Thomas Fure / NTB / AFP)

NATO could have done more to arm Ukraine to try to prevent Russia's invasion in 2022, the outgoing head of the Western military alliance said in an interview released on Saturday.
"Now we provide military stuff to a war - then we could have provided military stuff to prevent the war," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told German weekly newspaper FAS, according to Reuters.
Stoltenberg pointed to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's reluctance to provide weapons that Kyiv had asked for before Russia's full-scale invasion because of fears that tensions with Russia would escalate.
After the war began, Kyiv, which is not a member of NATO, received one weapons system after another from its allies after initial hesitation.
Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, will step down in October from his role at NATO, which he has held since 2014. Dutch former Prime Minister Mark Rutte was announced in June as the organization's next boss.
In the interview, Stoltenberg said an end to the war in Ukraine would be achieved only at the negotiating table.
"To end this war there will have to be again dialogue with Russia at a certain stage. But it has to be based on Ukrainian strength," he said.
Stoltenberg declined to confirm that he would take over from German diplomat Christoph Heusgen as chair of the Munich Security Conference after leaving NATO. He told FAS he had "many options" and would reside in Oslo.



UN Names Former British Diplomat Tom Fletcher to Lead Aid Efforts

Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.
Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.
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UN Names Former British Diplomat Tom Fletcher to Lead Aid Efforts

Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.
Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday appointed former British diplomat Tom Fletcher as the new aid chief for the world body amid worsening humanitarian crises in the Gaza Strip, Sudan and elsewhere, largely driven by conflict.

Fletcher replaces Martin Griffiths, who stepped down at the end of June for health reasons.

Fletcher - who is currently the principal of Hertford College, Oxford - was the British ambassador to Lebanon from 2011-2015 and served as the foreign and development policy adviser to three British prime ministers between 2007-2011, the UN said in a statement.

He "has strong experience of leading and transforming organizations and bringing an understanding of diplomacy at the highest levels," the UN said.

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said he did not know when Fletcher would take up the role.

The announcement comes as UN efforts to tackle humanitarian needs around the world are significantly underfunded.

The UN has appealed for $49 billion in 2024 to help 187.6 million of the people in need across 73 countries. But the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which Fletcher will lead, said on Wednesday that so far it has only received $16.21 billion.