NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg criticized the judgment that Ukraine poses a threat to Russia. The aggressor is Russia, and it is Moscow that must take measures to reduce the tension.

He said this on Wednesday in Brussels at a press conference after the meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, answering a Russian journalist, or the supply of weapons to Ukraine from allies helps to resolve the situation.

"Ukraine is a sovereign state and has the right to self-defense. Ukraine is not in any way a threat to Russia. Russia has the largest ground forces in Europe, it is the largest nuclear force, they have invested significantly... in recent years, but not only that. It is Russia that has used military force against Ukraine, illegally annexing a part of Ukraine, Crimea, back in 2014 and continuing to destabilize eastern Ukraine in Donbas. The aggressor is Russia. Russia has used force and continues to use force against Ukraine. And now we see a significant, strong military buildup in and around Ukraine with combat-ready troops, with armored units, with battle tanks, with a lot of advanced equipment that is actually absolutely unjustified and is undermining the security of Ukraine, but also the security of Europe," he said.

Stoltenberg believes that the easiest way out of this crisis is for Russia to de-escalate the situation.

"The reason we are here, the reason we have today's crisis, is because there is a significant military build-up in Ukraine and on its border, which is combined with threatening rhetoric when they say that if you do not do it or these will have serious consequences, and, as... the president [of Russia] has determined, we will take military-technical measures," the secretary general said.

At the same time, Stoltenberg expressed confidence that "it is possible to move forward and reduce tension if Russia wants to interact, and if it wants to find a political way forward."

"We have a frank and open discussion on a wide range of issues. But we will not compromise on the core principles of European security, that each country has the right to choose its own path," the secretary general said.

The official also said he is interested to see how the non-NATO countries Finland and Sweden are very clear on this issue, they understand that as soon as this kind of restriction is applied, that the right to choose one's own path only applies to some countries and not to all, then a kind of first and second class of countries starts: some have the right because they are big or for historical reasons they are part of an alliance like NATO, do what they want, choosing their path. And everyone else has no right.