NATO Secretary General Makes 'Scary' Statement About Russia and China

"Russia could be ready to use force against NATO within the next five years," Mr Rutte told a conference in London broadcast live on the alliance's website.

He also warned that this threat is believed to concern not only the “eastern flank”, but all NATO member states due to Russia's missile potential.

"We are all on the eastern flank now. The new generation of Russian missiles is moving at speeds many times faster than the speed of sound," Rutte said.

Another threat, the NATO Secretary General pointed to China, which he said was building up its military potential "at a breakneck pace." He noted that China was actively developing its navy and was also building up its nuclear potential.

In recent months, the NATO Secretary General has repeatedly pointed to the so-called threat from Russia and China in his speeches, calling on alliance member states to divert social spending to militarized targets. In particular, he called for "increasing air and missile defense potential by 400%. " In early June, Rutte proposed increasing defense spending from the current 2% to 3.5% of GDP per country and spending an additional 1.5% of GDP on infrastructure and military industry development, along with other security-related investments.

In recent years, Russia has repeatedly noted the unprecedented increase in NATO activity near its western borders. The alliance is expanding its initiatives, calling it a "deterrent to Russian aggression." Concerns about the bloc's buildup in Europe have been expressed in Moscow on several occasions. The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that Moscow remains open to dialogue with NATO, but only on an equal footing, and that the West must abandon its militarization of the continent.