NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte rejected reports that Russia had warned it could use nuclear weapons over Kaliningrad, saying the alliance was ready to defend its territory. Rutte also said Europe needed to become less dependent on Washington in the field of security.
Speaking at the Euronews Defense and Space Summit in Brussels on Wednesday, Rutte said NATO was a defensive alliance. He said NATO would defend every inch of its territory and was ready to respond in the event of a threat.
Claim of a letter concerning Kaliningrad
Rutte’s remarks followed reports that Russia had warned NATO in a letter against any attempt to cut off Kaliningrad’s connection with the rest of Russia.
It was alleged that Moscow had said it was ready to use its entire arsenal, including nuclear weapons, over Kaliningrad, the Russian exclave located between Poland and Lithuania. Rutte did not confirm the contents of the letter and rejected the assessment that there was an imminent nuclear threat to the Baltic states.
Calling for an end to nuclear threat rhetoric, Rutte said such rhetoric was unnecessary and produced no constructive results.
The war in Ukraine and Europe’s defense
Rutte said the war in Ukraine must end, describing the conflict as an unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine. He argued that Russian President Vladimir Putin would never defeat NATO and said he did not take that threat seriously.
Rutte also said Russia was suffering heavy losses in Ukraine. The NATO secretary general claimed that 43,000 Russian soldiers were being killed or seriously wounded each month and said Moscow was trying to divide NATO allies and divert attention from the battlefield.
Rutte said these developments were linked to the war in Ukraine not going well for Russia, adding that Europe needed to build the capacity to deal with security threats on its own in the future.
Rutte said increased European defense spending should enable the continent to assume greater responsibility for defending NATO’s European flank. At the same time, he said the United States should maintain its role in NATO and remain committed to the alliance in terms of both nuclear and conventional capabilities.
RIA Novosti, Russia’s state news agency, reported that Rutte said he did not consider assessments that the U.S. role in Europe would be limited to nuclear deterrence in the future to be realistic. Rutte stressed that the American military presence in the field of conventional weapons was also necessary for tactical and strategic reasons.
