NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called for not being naive about Russia, given the existence of a threat.
He said this on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague on June 25, writes The Guardian.
Rutte on the threat to Russia
The Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization stressed that officials from the relevant defense ministries of European countries are warning that Russia is building up its army at a frantic pace.
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“Let's not be naive about Russia. Of course, they are waging this completely unprovoked war against Ukraine, but at the same time they are building up their armed forces and rebuilding their army at such a pace that they could be ready to attack NATO in three, five or seven years,” Rutte said.
He stressed that NATO is aware of the existence of the Russian threat. Therefore, the military-political union wants to be sure that it can defend itself.
At the summit in The Hague, the leaders of NATO member states committed to spending 5% of GDP annually on defense and security needs by 2035.
In the declaration, they promised continued support for Ukraine, but did not directly condemn Russia. At the same time, the document contains a separate line about the “long-term threat that Russia poses to Euro-Atlantic security.”
