Russia is becoming “an increasing threat to NATO“, said German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius today, who is visiting Poland and Lithuania amid weeks of tension on the alliance's eastern flank, DPA reported, BTA reported.
In a speech at a security conference in Warsaw, Pistorius said that Moscow is “testing NATO allies more and more often and more intensely“.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “is deliberately trying to undermine European security and the territorial integrity of European countries“, the German defense minister said. “He wants to provoke NATO member states. "He wants to expose the vulnerabilities in our alliance," Pistorius added.
But NATO has responded "to Russian provocations with clarity, unity, determination and prudence," he said. "We will not be lured into Putin's trap of constant escalation." We remain calm and steadfast and resolute," he added.
The conference is also expected to include Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, and European Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius.
Pistorius is also expected to participate in high-level talks in Warsaw to discuss Ukraine's future relations with Europe.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who is also attending the conference, said Russia's war in Ukraine was part of a political project to subjugate other nations.
"This war is ours too," Tusk said. "If we lose this war, the consequences will affect not only our generation but also the next generation in Poland, Europe, the United States and everywhere in the world," he added.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful is also in the Polish capital for talks with his counterparts from France, Poland and Ukraine.
"We are united, we are keeping our cool and we are not allowing ourselves to be drawn into an escalation," Wadeful said before leaving for Warsaw. "At the same time, we leave no doubt that we are determined and ready to repel any threat together," he added.
Moscow's violations of NATO airspace "are not mistakes, but deliberate attacks in the gray zone," he warned. According to him, they are part of Putin's hybrid aggression and "such provocations are extremely dangerous and have only one goal - to test our resolve."
NATO will "defend every centimeter of our alliance's territory - no member state will be left alone to deal with these threats," Vaddeful said at a joint press conference in Warsaw with his colleagues from Poland and France, Reuters reported.
After Poland, Pitorius will also visit Lithuania, where Germany has deployed a brigade to help defend NATO's eastern flank. The unit was officially activated in May and is expected to consist of about 4,800 military personnel and 200 civilians. It is expected to reach full operational capability in 2027.
Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė will officially hand over the management of a logistics center in the city of Rukla to Pistorius. A German school will be officially opened in the capital Vilnius tomorrow.