The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) secretary general has said that Russia would face serious consequences and pay a high price for any aggression in Ukraine.
The comments came during a meeting between the organization’s foreign ministers on Tuesday in the Latvian capital of Riga.
According to a report in Deutsche Welle, the military alliance seemed uncertain about Russian objectives on the border with Ukraine. Worries have increased of a Russian invasion of Ukraine in the wake of allegations that Russia had stationed thousands of soldiers and heavy weaponry on its border with Ukraine.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned Russia of dire consequences if it behaved aggressively with Ukraine in the coming days, including adverse political and economic measures. He also emphasized that Ukraine was not part of NATO and thus not a party to the organization’s mutual defence agreement.
He further said that they should prepare for a worst-case scenario and also convey a message to Russia to refrain from invading Ukraine, raising the possibility of putting sanctions.
Prior to this, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken invoked Article 5 of NATO’s mutual defence pact, saying that his country was firmly committed to Baltic protection. He said Russia would face serious consequences if it invaded Ukraine, adding that if Russia intensified hostilities, the US would be very worried.
The outgoing German Foreign Minister also warned Moscow of serious consequences as a result of any violence from it.
The Latvian defence minister said that he was as worried as his US and fellow NATO counterparts about Russian designs over Ukraine.
He also stated that he was afraid Russian measures towards its neighbours would increase its dominance in the region, citing the situation in Belarus.
