NATO is currently considering mechanisms to respond to Russian aggression.
Former head of NATO's military committee Rob Bauer said that the Alliance may not respond to Russia's attack on Estonia, since Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty on collective defense does not mean an automatic military response in the event of a Russian attack.
The former chairman of NATO's military committee said this in an interview with Die Welt.
According to Bauer, if the attack is limited in scale and does not pose a direct threat to the territorial integrity of a member state, then consultations will first take place between all members of the bloc. During these discussions, they will decide whether to start a war with Russia.
Rob Bauer says NATO's actions will depend on the “type of attack.”
“If this is a relatively small attack and the overall territorial integrity of Estonia is not at risk, there is time for consultations. We must consider whether we want to start a war or not. The so-called hybrid war is no less harmful than war,” he said.
As is known, Estonia is one of the most likely targets for Russia's subsequent war of conquest, since the Russians have several convenient preconditions for this.
Estonia is the smallest of the three Baltic states. It was under the control of the Russian Empire and then the USSR for about 200 years. With less than 300 km at its widest point from the Russian border to the Baltic Sea, Estonia lacks “any strategic depth.” And its flat landscape would encourage intervention.
Politico previously reported that the Estonian city of Narva, located on the border with Russia, has become the center of resistance to Moscow's constant provocations, including jamming navigation and using drones. Experts are concerned that Russia may try to use a similar scenario — “protecting Russian speakers” in eastern Estonia, where ethnic Russians live, in particular in the city of Narva.
Across the river from Narva is the Russian city of Ivangorod. Last year, a poster reading “Russia's borders never end” was erected near the Russian-Estonian border crossing. It traditionally depicts dictator Vladimir Putin.
Let us recall that the Defence Forces, together with the National Centre for Defence Investments (RKIK), have begun construction of the Baltic Defence Line in south-eastern Estonia.
While anti-tank ditches are being dug in certain sections of the border, the construction of 28 bunkers and dozens of storage sites is planned by the end of the year. We are talking about the first test section of the Baltic Defense Line.
Read also:
