By Tuvan Gumrukcu
ANTALYA, Turkey (Reuters) – Establishing humanitarian corridors in Ukraine for evacuations and aid is the “bare minimum” to be done now, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday, adding it was important for the top Russian and Ukrainian diplomats to have met.
Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a forum in Turkey, he called the nuclear rhetoric from Russian President Vladimir Putin “dangerous” and “reckless” and repeated the alliance would not send troops or jets into Ukraine.
“I continue to believe it is important that we work hard for a political, diplomatic solution,” Stoltenberg said. “The bare minimum is to establish humanitarian corridors where people can get out and humanitarian aid can get in.”
A no-fly zone over Ukraine “would most likely…escalate the war to a full-fledged war between NATO and Russia”, he added.
Asked whether Moscow’s invasion shed new light on Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 defence systems, which triggered U.S. sanctions on Ankara, Stoltenberg said it showed the importance of NATO allies not being dependent on Russian military equipment.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Alex Richardson)
