NATO: Russia has imposed 'a new normal' on Europe

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation has warned Russia that if it were to go ahead and use force to annex Ukraine, it will have to pay a high price for it.

Interacting with media persons after the first day of the meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, "If they (Russia) use force, it will come with a high price. Sanctions will be imposed. NATO allies have provided support to Ukraine so that they are better trained and equipped and better commanded than they were in 2014 (when Russia annexed Crimea)."

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"We will also make sure that there is no room for misunderstanding or miscalculation on NATO's willingness and readiness to protect NATO allies," he added.

"The new normal is that Russia has demonstrated that it is really willing to contest some of the fundamental principles of our security. They have used force, the biggest concentration of forces since the end of the Cold War to intimidate other countries in Europe," Stoltenberg further said.

Earlier, the NATO Secretary-General informed that the grouping had already enhanced its deployments. While stating that NATO is not a threat to Russia, Stoltenberg said, "NATO defence ministers considered setting up new NATO battlegroups in central, eastern and southeastern Europe. France has offered to lead such a battlegroup in Romania."

Stating that Russia had imposed "a new normal" on Europe, Stoltenberg called Moscow's actions the most serious security crisis in Europe in decades.

Russia has almost encircled Ukraine, deploying high-end capabilities from Crimea to Belarus. He informed that NATO had sent concrete written proposals to Russia on risk reduction, transparency and arms control. "We have yet to receive a response," he said. 

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