MELITOPOL, January 16. /TASS/. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg’s statement that there could be no normalization of relations with Russia after the conflict in Ukraine ends hints that Western nations expect Kiev’s defeat in the special military operation, Vladimir Rogov, leader of the We Are Together with Russia movement, told TASS on Monday.

"Stoltenberg is speaking not for himself but as chief of a military bloc which is aggressive and hostile to Russia. The mere fact that he is speaking about the end of the conflict in Ukraine means that the Western elites have an understanding of what this confrontation will end in. The Zelensky regime’s human resource is not endless," he said.

According to Rogov, Western countries are seeking to prolong the conflict as much as possible. "The West has an understanding that the Zelensky regime is failing, but their goal is to protract the conflict, to set as many lines of engagement as possible, to stir up resentment and hatred in southern Russian regions to hamper the revival. They are trying to attain these goals by means of weapons supplies, political support and encouraging the Ukrainian army’s war crimes in all their forms, either torture of prisoners, extrajudicial executions or shelling attacks on peaceful cities," he explained.

Stoltenberg said in an interview with Germany’s Handelsblatt on January 15 that no normalization of the West’s relations with Russia could be expected when the conflict in Ukraine is over. The situation will never be the same again, he stressed.