NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called "unacceptable" the supply of unmanned aerial vehicles by Iran to Russia, which it uses in the war against Ukraine, welcoming the sanctions that the European Union has already applied to Tehran.

"In recent days, we have also seen Iran provide military support to the Russian war effort. This is unacceptable. No country should be helping the aggressor in an illegal war. So I welcome that Allies and the European Union are implementing strong sanctions on Tehran," NATO Secretary General said aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier George W. Bush, who is currently participating in the NATO exercise Neptune Strike 2022 in the Mediterranean Sea. The text of his remarks to the press was made public on the organization's website on Wednesday.

Stoltenberg also opined that "Russia's brutal war and illegal war is at a pivotal moment. President Putin is responding to his failures on the battlefield with more aggression. Strikes on civilians, on civilian energy infrastructure. And drone and missile attacks on residential areas. Russia now falsely claims Ukraine is preparing to use a radiological 'dirty bomb' on its own territory. NATO Allies reject this transparently false allegation," he said.

In this regard, the NATO Secretary General drew attention to the fact that earlier "we have seen pattern before – from Syria to Ukraine" when "Russia accuses others of what they intend to do themselves." "Russia must not use false pretexts for further escalation. The world is watching closely," Stoltenberg said.

He reiterated that NATO is not a party to the war in Ukraine, but will continue to support the fundamental right of Ukrainians to self-defense for as long as it takes.