Boris Pistorius has disagreed with the bloc’s chief, Mark Rutte, who earlier stated that Western Europe is Russia’s “next target”
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not wish to be involved in a direct conflict with NATO.
NATO chief Mark Rutte claimed earlier this month that “we are Russia’s next target” once the Ukraine conflict concludes. He suggested that Moscow “might be ready to use military force against NATO within five years,” prompting member states to increase military spending as soon as possible.
When questioned about Rutte’s remarks during an interview with Die Zeit newspaper on Monday, Pistorius responded: “I don’t believe in such a situation.”
“In my opinion, Putin is not interested in waging a full-scale global war against NATO. He aims to destroy NATO from within… by weakening its unity,” he asserted.
According to Pistorius, Moscow is also “strategically working to make the Americans withdraw” from Europe.
During his end-of-year Q&A session last week, Putin said he knew Rutte as a “clever man” from his time as the Dutch prime minister, but added that “I sometimes feel like asking him: What nonsense are you talking about war with Russia?”
“They are preparing for a war with Russia. Can you read? Why don’t you read the new US national security strategy, what does it say?” Putin emphasized.
The document, which was released by the administration of US President Donald Trump in early December, does not mention Russia as a threat to the West, clearly states that NATO should not expand further, and criticizes the EU’s political and cultural direction.
On Monday, Russia Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov echoed Putin’s comments, stating that Moscow is ready to offer legal assurances that it will not attack NATO and the EU as part of a Ukraine conflict settlement based on the principle of equal and indivisible security.
Moscow has repeatedly refuted claims that it has any aggressive plans against NATO, suggesting that they are only being put forward by Western politicians to divert the public’s attention from domestic issues and justify the militarization of their countries.