Facts

NATO doesn't see threat from Russia but ready to response in case of another Ukrainian scenario

NATO does not believe that there is currently a threat from Russia to any of the countries of the alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, said in an interview with the American Foreign Policy edition.

"First, we don't see any threat against any NATO ally and therefore, I'm always careful speculating too much about hypothetical situations. But what I can say is that anything like what happened in Crimea and Ukraine would, of course, trigger a response from the whole alliance, because NATO is there to defend and protect all allies against any threat," he said, answering the question about what the bloc will do if Russia repeats the Ukrainian scenario against the Baltic countries.

According to Stoltenberg, "NATO's core task is to protect all allies based on the idea, "One for all and all for one." For that end, multinational combat units have been deployed for the first time in this part of Europe.

"The combat-ready battle groups, which are multinational, send a very clear signal that NATO is there to protect [allies]. If any NATO ally is attacked, NATO is already there," he said.

He said that "the purpose of our presence is not to provoke a conflict, but it is to prevent a conflict." "That is how NATO, for almost 70 years, has preserved the peace in Europe by providing credible deterrence."

"We implemented the biggest reinforcement of collective defense since the end of the Cold War, with increased defense spending, a direct result of Russia’s aggressive actions. We're making sure that nothing similar will ever happen to a NATO-allied country," Stoltenberg said.

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