A senior Russian senator on Tuesday said that supplying weapons to Kyiv and the desire for peace are “opposite” actions, following renewed calls by NATO’s chief for greater support to Ukraine.
“It is time for obsessed politicians in the West to understand that the desire for peace and an end to the bloodshed and the desire to even further weaponize Ukraine are opposite and mutually exclusive actions,” Sen. Konstantin Kosachev, deputy speaker of Russia’s upper house of parliament, said on Telegram.
“More deaths for the sake of peace is definitely not what will bring the negotiations closer.”
NATO calls: Speaking Monday at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Madrid, the defense alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on NATO allies to agree to step up support for Ukraine and strengthen deterrence and defense when they meet for their next summit in Vilnius, Lithuania in July 2023.
“We must be prepared to support Ukraine for the long haul,” Stoltenberg said. “Yes, I know that this support comes with a price. In our countries, many people face a cost-of-living crisis, energy and food bills are rising. These are tough times for many. But the price we pay as NATO allies is measured in money while the Ukrainians, they pay a price which is measured in blood.”
The NATO chief said allies may decide to spend more on defense than the current target of 2% of GDP, adding that “should be considered a floor, not a ceiling for our defense investments.”
Peace plan: Russia launched its biggest wave of missile attacks on Ukrainian cities in more than a month last Tuesday, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky proposed a peace plan in front of world leaders at the G20 summit in Indonesia. The 10-point plan includes a path to nuclear safety, food security, a special tribunal for alleged Russian war crimes, and a final peace treaty with Moscow.
