Dismissing Accusations of Double Standards, NATO Secretary General: The Situation in Gaza and Ukraine is Different

Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg. (Source: NATO)

JAKARTA - The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) dismissed accusations of double standards directed at the West, saying international law applies in all conflicts, but views the wars in Ukraine and Gaza as very different.

Arab leaders accused Western countries of failing to apply the same standards to Israel's war on Gaza, launched in response to an attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, as they applied to Russia's war in Ukraine.

"My message is that international law, humanitarian law, must be respected in all conflicts and the lives of civilians must always be protected," said Stoltenberg when asked about the Arab country's accusations, as reported by Reuters, November 29.

Stoltenberg spoke at a press conference at the headquarters of the transatlantic military alliance in Brussels, Belgium.

"It is also important to realize that the situation in Gaza and the situation in Ukraine are different in many ways," he said.

"Ukraine has never been a threat to Russia, Ukraine has never attacked Russia," Stoltenberg continued.

"Russia's invasion of Ukraine was an unprovoked invasion, a full-scale invasion of another country. So, of course, Ukraine has the right to defend itself against unprovoked attacks and to uphold its territorial integrity," he added.

Separately, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in a national statement at the UN General Assembly in New York, United States, Tuesday local time, also warned that the application of double standards over the crisis in Gaza would stop.

"I remind you that in war there are rules and limits. We do not see these two things in Gaza. Attacks on various civilian facilities are not normal. I can repeat, not normal," she stressed, in a statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wednesday, November 29.

"What is happening in Gaza is a clear violation of international humanitarian law. The application of double standards must be stopped and Indonesia supports efforts to hold Israel accountable, including at the International Court of Justice," she stressed.