NATO allies on Friday rejected Ukraine’s demand for no-fly zones reiterating that they were increasing support but that stepping in directly would lead to a broader, even more brutal European war which would not be safe for anyone.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that wants to join the European Union and Western military alliance NATO, is not a currently a member of either.
‘We are not part of this conflict, and we have a responsibility to ensure it does not escalate and spread beyond Ukraine,’ NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called for Western powers to enforce a no-fly zone since Moscow’s invasion started nine days ago, with Russia shelling cities and bringing fighting to Europe’s largest nuclear plant.
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‘We understand the desperation but we also believe that if we did that (a no-fly zone) we would end up with something that could lead to a full-fledged war in Europe involving much more countries and much more suffering,’ Stoltenberg said.
The only way for NATO to implement a no-fly zone would be to send NATO planes to shoot down Russian ones, he said, adding that the risk of escalation would be too big.
‘Allies agree we should not have NATO planes operating over Ukrainian airspace or NATO troops operating in Ukrainian territory’
Africa Daily News, New York recalls that on Thursday, Zelenskiy stressed that that if allies wouldn’t meet his request to protect Ukrainian air space, they should instead provide Kyiv with more war planes.
NATO members have sent arms to Ukraine, but stopped short of military action that would put them in direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the alliance would defend ‘every inch’ of NATO territory from attack. ‘Ours is a defensive alliance. We seek no conflict. But if conflict comes to us, we are ready for it,’ Blinken said.
Instead of a military presence in Ukraine, European Union countries – many of them also NATO members – said they were eyeing more economic sanctions on Russia.
The West is importing about $700 million of energy from Russia daily, the Eurointelligence think-tank said.
Western powers have already punished Russia including with restrictions on central bank activities and by seizing assets from billionaire oligarchs.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
