NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that even if Russia's war against Ukraine ends, the problems in NATO's relationship with Russia persist.

"If Putin wins in Ukraine, it will be a tragedy for the Ukrainians. But it is also dangerous for us.The message to him and other authoritarian leaders will be that if they use military force, they will get what they want. It will make us more vulnerable. There will be no lasting peace if oppression and tyranny win over freedom and democracy. Wars are unpredictable. It is impossible to say when, or how, the war in Ukraine will end. But what we do know is that most wars end at the negotiating table. Most likely this one too. What Ukrainians can achieve at the table depends on their strength on the battlefield.

So if we want a negotiated peace solution, where Ukraine survives as an independent democratic country in Europe, the fastest way to get there is to support Ukraine.Weapons are – in fact – the way to peace.

Regardless of when or how this war ends, we must accept that the security situation in Europe has changed permanently. The regime in Moscow wants a different Europe. It wants to control neighbouring countries, and it sees democracy and freedom as a threat. This puts Russia in a position of constant conflict with the West. So even if this war ends, the problems in our relationship with Russia persist," Stoltenberg said in a speech at a business conference in Oslo, Norway.