NEW YORK, December 1. /TASS/. NATO intends to prevent a conflict with Russia in the light of the situation in Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with CNN.
"The task is to prevent that from happening. That's first of all the reason why we call Russia to stop its aggressive actions against Ukraine," Stoltenberg said, answering a question about the possibility of a conflict between Russia and NATO over Ukraine.
"Every nation has the right to self-defense that's actually enshrined in the UN charter," the Secretary General continued. "NATO support for Ukraine is 110% or is absolutely in line with our international obligations, and Ukraine, of course, has the right to self-defense."
He underscored that NATO provides "guarantees of security" to its member states, while Ukraine is not one of them.
"Ukraine is a partner we provide support and training capacity," Stoltenberg said, underscoring that the members of the alliance can expect full protection by NATO in case of aggression.
Recently, claims about a potential Russian invasion into Ukrainian territory have become increasingly frequent in the West and Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called this information an empty and groundless escalation of tensions, underscoring that Russia is not a threat to anyone. Meanwhile, he speculated that provocations are possible intended to justify such statements, and warned that attempts to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine by force will have most serious consequences.
Peskov also underscored that Russia makes all possible efforts to help Ukraine to settle the conflict in Donbass while adhering to the Normandy Format and the Minsk Agreements.