NATO's recent actions to strengthen the alliance's eastern borders are aimed at deterring Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said today, quoted by Reuters, broadcast by BTA.
He added that it must be clear to Moscow that the pact will be ready to defend itself if necessary.
Speaking at the East German Economic Forum, which was also attended by Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonite, Scholz said Germany was playing a leading role in NATO's presence in the Baltic republics bordering Russia, which dates back almost a decade.
"And because the threat from Russia will remain, we and other allies decided last year to deploy additional formations to the Baltic republics, as well as to deploy an entire brigade there on a permanent basis in the future," Scholz said. " /strong> "This turn in defense policy is necessary to show Russia: we are ready to defend every inch of NATO territory against a possible attack,", emphasized the German chancellor. He argued that diplomacy would only be effective from a position of strength, and added that it was key that the Baltic republics could fully rely on their NATO allies to come to their aid in the event of a Russian attack. "This is a message to ourselves. However, this is also a message to Russia. Because the reliability of this commitment is, of course, also part of the calculations that Russia is making," Scholz said. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned NATO nations not to allow Ukraine to use weapons supplied by them to strike Russian territory, after several Western countries lifted restrictions on the use of weapons sent of Kiev. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg dismissed those warnings on Friday, saying the pact had already heard them many times and that self-defense was not an escalation, according to Reuters.