NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN that he’s “confident” that both Hungary and Turkey will ratify the accession of Finland and Sweden to the alliance, following Hungary’s announcement that it would support membership for both countries next year.
“I can’t tell you exactly when,” he said, but added on “CNN This Morning” that it was “one of fastest ever accession processes in history.”
“President Putin is trying to weaponize winter, and by deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure, he tries to deprive the Ukrainians of gas, hearing, water, and this just demonstrates once again the brutality of this war and the importance of President Putin, Russia, ending this war,” Stoltenberg said, adding “the best way we can address the horrific scenes we see from Ukraine is to support Ukraine.”
He commended the United States in particular “for providing unprecedented support to Ukraine.”
Stoltenberg told CNN that supporting Ukraine was important, “because our own security interest is to ensure that President Putin does not win in Ukraine.”
When asked about comments from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley that there may be a window for negotiations to end the war, Stoltenberg replied, “what happens around the negotiating table is dependent on what happens on the battlefield.”
