Former NATO chief says he doesn’t think allies will be dragged into Middle East conflict
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The former NATO secretary-general says he doesn’t think the alliance will be dragged into the Middle East conflict, but he worries that the ongoing war with Iran will benefit Russia’s economy and divert the world’s attention from the invasion of Ukraine.
“NATO has never played an important role in the important conflicts of the Middle East,” said Jens Stoltenberg in an interview with CBC. The house in the air on Saturday morning. “I think it’s important to prevent NATO [from becoming] involved in this dispute.”
Although he believes that the NATO allies will not get involved again in this war, which started two weeks ago when Israel and the United States began airstrikes in Iran, Stoltenberg expressed concern about the global impact.
“We see that the economic consequences are important. The increase in electricity prices, and that can lead to a reduction in global growth and an increase in inflation,” Stoltenberg told trustee Catherine Cullen.
Today, he is Norway’s finance minister.
“It is the combination of human suffering and economic consequences that makes me worry,” he said.
The Strait of Hormuz has been closed for 10 days as the US-Israel war with Iran continues to escalate, causing global concern about the oil crisis. Andrew Chang explains why in the US – despite having the most powerful navy in the world – getting the traffic of oil tankers moving along the main shipping route is more difficult than it might seem. Photos provided by The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images
Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, while Israel has reported 12 deaths. The United States lost at least 11 soldiers, and another eight were seriously injured.
Meanwhile, the Iranian government is retaliating by closing the Strait of Hormuz, an important oil hub in the world. Oil prices have since risen to $100 US per barrel, resulting in governments to enter their emergency areas.
Stoltenberg said the global economic impact, and recent US actions to exempt Russian oil from sanctions for at least 30 days, worries him because it gives a boost to the Russian economy.
“Russia is the leading producer of oil, and there have been all the announcements about reducing at least the sanctions against Russia, and that will help them a lot,” he said.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will do “everything we can” to help the global energy market. However, it should be noted that Canada is the only G7 country that does not save the saving plan.
After the US announced its release on Friday, Carney said Canada’s sanctions on Russian oil tankers would remain in place.
Stoltenberg also warned of military equipment that Ukraine needs to be transferred to the Middle East to defend against an attack by Iran, which would give Russia better opportunities to attack Ukrainian territory.
Will NATO survive President Trump?
According to Stoltenberg, there are no guarantees that NATO will survive US President Donald Trump – who is openly disillusioned with the alliance – but still believes that it will succeed.
“A strong NATO is good for Europe, good for Canada, but also good for the United States,” Stoltenberg said.
He pointed out that his country is on the border with Russia, which keeps nuclear weapons that could be fired at America. As a result, Norway tracks Russian submarines or other threats and warns the US if needed.
“We’re helping the US get critical information for its own security,” Stoltenberg said.
“So the criticism that President Trump expressed was not against NATO. It was against NATO allies for not investing enough. [the alliance]and the good news is that it has changed and is changing.”
NATO countries have pledged to spend 5 percent of their gross domestic product on defense – 3.5 percent on their military and an additional 1.5 percent on defense infrastructure.
According to Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), meeting this target could add $63 billion to the federal budget.
