NATO Secretary General makes 'frightening' statements about Russia and China.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, in a speech calling for a significant increase in defense spending, said that Russia could be ready for a military confrontation with the alliance within the next five years.
"Russia could be ready to use force against NATO within the next five years," Rutte said at a London conference broadcast live on the alliance's website.
He also warned that this threat is believed to affect not only the "eastern flank," but all NATO member states due to Russia's missile potential.
"Currently, we are all on the eastern flank. Russia's new generation of missiles is traveling at speeds many times faster than the speed of sound," Rutte said.
The NATO Secretary General raised another threat: China, which he said is building its military potential "at breakneck speed." He noted that China is actively developing its navy and is also building its nuclear capabilities.
In recent months, the NATO Secretary General has repeatedly pointed to the so-called threat from Russia and China in his speeches, urging alliance member states to redirect spending on social programs toward militarization goals. In particular, he called for "a 400% increase in missile and air defense capabilities." In early June, Rutte proposed increasing defense spending from the current 2% to 3.5% of GDP per country, and allocating an additional 1.5% of GDP to infrastructure development and the military industry, along with other security-related investments.
In recent years, Russia has repeatedly noted NATO's unprecedented increase in activity near its western borders. The alliance is expanding its initiatives, calling them "to deter Russian aggression." Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern about the bloc's increased military presence in Europe. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the Moscow authorities remain open to dialogue with NATO, but only on an equal footing, and that the West must abandon its militarization of the continent.