NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg commented that the new pact between Russia and North Korea demonstrates growing coherence between authoritarian states, emphasizing the importance of unity between democracies, Paralel.Az reports citing UNN.

"We must realize that authoritarian states are increasingly uniting. They support each other in ways we've never seen before," - Stoltenberg said, speaking at a panel discussion during an official visit to Ottawa.

"At a time when they are increasingly United - authoritarian regimes like North Korea, China, Iran, Russia - it is even more important that we are united as countries that believe in freedom and democracy," he said.

Deepening contacts between Russia and other Asian countries means that cooperation with allies in the Asia-Pacific region is becoming increasingly important for NATO, he added, noting that this is why the leaders of Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea were invited to the NATO summit. Washington next month.