NATO vows to support Ukraine until peace talks with Russia begin
Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chair of NATO's Military Committee, has said NATO will continue to support Ukraine until the parties are ready to sit down for peace negotiations.
Cavo Dragone said in an interview with the BBC that NATO "will stand with Ukraine up to the day in which we will have them sitting around the table for a long-lasting peace".
He added that from an operational point of view, Russia's war against Ukraine has reached a stalemate, so "it was almost time to sit and talk because it's a waste of lives".
Cavo Dragone called the war a strategic defeat for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, despite the recent slow advances of Russian forces on the battlefield.
"They will not get a friendly or puppet government [in Ukraine – ed.] like in Belarus. Putin will not succeed," the admiral said.
Asked whether European countries are prepared to continue supporting Ukraine's defence, Cavo Dragone said they are, noting that Europe has received something of a wake-up call and is now taking greater responsibility for its own security.
Earlier, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said that Russia has yet to show any genuine willingness to engage in peace talks with Ukraine.
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