ロシア支援継続なら「代償」 ＮＡＴＯ事務総長、中国に警告

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】北大西洋条約機構（ＮＡＴＯ）のイエンス・ストルテンベルグ事務総長は１７日、訪問先の米首都ワシントンで講演を行い、ウクライナを侵攻するロシアを支援し続けるなら中国は代償を払うことになると警告した。（写真は、米ホワイトハウスで会談するジョー・バイデン大統領〈右〉と北大西洋条約機構〈ＮＡＴＯ〉のイエンス・ストルテンベルグ事務総長）
　シンクタンクのウッドロー・ウィルソン国際学術センターで講演したストルテンベルグ氏は、「われわれの長期支援の信頼度が高ければ高いほど、われわれをやり過ごすことはできないとロシアが悟る時期は早まる」と指摘。「逆説的なようだが、ウクライナへの武器供与拡大が平和への道だ」と語った。
　また、中国に関しては、対ロシア輸出の拡大を通じて同国防衛産業を支援することによりウクライナでの状況を悪化させていると非難。習近平国家主席は制裁回避と貿易維持のためウクライナでの紛争をめぐり目立たないようにしているが、現実には中国は紛争をあおる一方で「西側とも良好な関係を支持しようとしている」と述べた。
　その上で、「中国は二兎（にと）を追うことはできない。いずれかの時点で、そして路線を変えないのなら、ＮＡＴＯとしては代償を払わせる必要が出てくる」と語った。
　ジョー・バイデン大統領との会談では、ＮＡＴＯ加盟３２か国中２３か国が今年、防衛費を国内総生産（ＧＤＰ）比２％以上に引き上げる目標を達成するとの見通しを示した。
　設立７５年を迎えたＮＡＴＯは来月、ワシントンで首脳会議を開き、ウクライナへの長期的な支援姿勢を明確に打ち出す方針だ。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/06/18-18:33）

NATO's chief called Monday for China to face consequences if it keeps up support to Russia as he trumpeted a sharp increase in allies' defense spending since the invasion of Ukraine.
Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that Kyiv needed predictable and steady military funding as he hailed the uptick in NATO member defense budgets -- addressing a key factor behind Donald Trump's skepticism about helping Ukraine.
NATO next month celebrates its 75th anniversary with a summit in Washington that aims to send a decisive long-term message of support for Ukraine ahead of President Joe Biden's reelection fight against Republican candidate Trump in November.
The more credible our long-term support, the quicker Moscow will realize it cannot wait us out, Stoltenberg said on a visit to the US capital to lay the groundwork.
It may seem like a paradox, but the path to peace is more weapons for Ukraine, he said.
Stoltenberg accused China of worsening the conflict through what US officials say is a major export push to rebuild Russia's defense industry.
President Xi Jinping has tried to create the impression that he is taking a back seat in this conflict, to avoid sanctions and keep trade flowing, Stoltenberg said.
But the reality is that China is fueling the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II, and at the same time, it wants to maintain good relations with the West, he said.
Beijing cannot have it both ways. At some point -- and unless China changes course -- allies need to impose a cost. There should be consequences, Stoltenberg added.
In addition to the 32 members of the NATO alliance, the summit will also bring in four key partners from the Asia-Pacific: Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
China argues that it is not sending lethal assistance to either side -- unlike the United States and other Western nations.
Beijing steered clear of a weekend summit in Switzerland promoted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that reaffirmed Kyiv's demands for Russia to leave Ukrainian territory for any peace.
- Rising NATO spending -
Stoltenberg said that Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit this week to North Korea, which has supplied shells to Moscow despite being under UN sanctions, further showed how Moscow was dependent on authoritarian leaders.
Trump -- who in the past has voiced admiration for Putin -- has boasted that he can quickly end the war, likely by pressing Ukraine to accept demands.
Trump has long raged over what he sees as unfairness in NATO, founded to counter the Soviet Union.
On the campaign trail, he has suggested he would encourage Russia to do whatever the hell they want if NATO members do not pay your bills.
In the Oval Office, Stoltenberg told Biden that 23 of the 32 allies now met a pledge to spend at least two percent of GDP on defense, as the Ukraine invasion brings new security fears to Europe.
A 2014 NATO summit set the funding goal that was then met by only three countries -- the United States, Britain and Greece. Stoltenberg last reported that 20 countries were achieving the target.
NATO allies are this year increasing defense spending by 18 percent. That's the biggest increase in decades, Stoltenberg said.
In a sharply different message than Trump, Biden hailed NATO, saying that since it has successfully deterred further Russian aggression in Europe through its promise to defend every inch of NATO territory.
- Bracing for Trump -
In an unstated bid to Trump-proof future efforts, Stoltenberg wants the Washington summit to commit the alliance to provide at least 40 billion euros ($43 billion) a year in military aid to Ukraine and to put NATO in charge of coordination.
Speaking to reporters after his Wilson Center speech, Stoltenberg did not criticize Trump but pointed to the damage done on the battlefront by the delay in Congress approving a $60 billion package for Ukraine.
Regardless of who's going to be the next president of the United States, Stoltenberg said, I believe that we should minimize the risk.
Stoltenberg, who led NATO throughout Trump's 2017-2021 presidency, said that successive US administrations had an absolutely valid point to say that European allies are spending too little.
The good news is that's changing, Stoltenberg said.
We're not saying that we are satisfied, but we are in a totally different place now than we were back in 2014, he said.