OMM Redaksiyası
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has dismissed Russian nuclear warnings linked to Kaliningrad, saying Moscow could not defeat the alliance.
Speaking at the Euronews Defense and Space Summit in Brussels on Wednesday, Rutte said NATO was prepared to defend its territory. “We will defend every inch of NATO territory. That threat is not there, and if anything happens, we are ready to counter it,” he said.
His remarks followed reports that Russia had warned NATO in a letter against any attempt to cut off Kaliningrad, its western exclave between Poland and Lithuania. According to the reports, Moscow said it was prepared to use its entire arsenal, including nuclear weapons.
Rutte declined to confirm the contents of the reported letter but rejected suggestions of an imminent nuclear threat to the Baltic states.
“We are a defensive alliance. Stop the nuclear threat. This is absolutely not called for and not helpful. And particularly stop the war in Ukraine, which is an unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine,” he said.
Rutte also said Russian President Vladimir Putin could not defeat NATO. “Everybody knows that he can never win against NATO. I don't take this seriously,” he added.
Russia seeking to divide NATO, Rutte says
Rutte said Russia was suffering heavy losses in Ukraine, claiming that 43,000 Russian troops were being killed or seriously wounded each month.
He argued that Moscow was attempting to divide NATO allies and divert attention from the battlefield.
“If necessary, of course we will defend ourselves. But the most important thing is this is all happening because the war is not going well for him in Ukraine. He wants to divide us. He wants us to lose attention when it comes to Ukraine,” Rutte said.
Europe urged to take greater security responsibility
The NATO chief said Europe needed to become more capable of handling security threats without relying so heavily on Washington.
“Why are the Americans doing it, taking out the Iranian nuclear capability? Because we can't. But in the future, we have to make sure that as Europeans, we can do this ourselves,” he said.
Rutte said higher European defense spending should eventually enable the continent to assume greater responsibility while keeping the United States engaged in NATO.
“Still, the US being involved not only in the nuclear sense but also in the conventional sense, but the Europeans taking much, much more responsibility for the defense of this part of NATO,” he said.
