NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said that if Russia was “stupid enough to attack us“, it would be an open war between Russia and NATO, La Repubblica reported.
According to him, a potential war between NATO and Russia would be very different from the one the Russian army is waging against Ukraine.
“We hope it never happens”, Rutte said in Ljubljana. “But if Russia is stupid enough to attack us, it would be an open war between Russia and NATO. It would be different from the war between Russia and Ukraine for many reasons that I don't want them to reveal because we don't want to give them an information advantage, but it would be different," he concluded.
The Kremlin claims that it has no intention of attacking a NATO country. However, there were such promises from Russia before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The head of German intelligence warned earlier today of the danger of a Russian attack on NATO in the near future.
Germany is facing a danger from Russia, the head of the German intelligence service told MPs today, DPA reported, BTA reported.
“We should not just stand by and assume that a possible Russian attack will not be expected until at least 2029,“ said Martin Jaeger, head of the Federal Intelligence Service. The lines between peace and war are becoming increasingly blurred, he said.
“At best, we can say that there is an icy peace in Europe that could turn into a hot confrontation at any time. We must prepare for an escalation of the situation,” he added.
The remarks in the Bundestag came after weeks of tension on NATO's eastern flank over several violations of the alliance's airspace by Russia.