Acts of sabotage by the Kremlin against Western targets could prompt the countries that make up NATO to apply the defense clause of Article 5 of the alliance, according to the head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service, Bruno Kahl, stated this Wednesday. during a DGAP think tank event in Berlin. Article 5 states that if any NATO member is attacked, The other states that make up the alliance are obliged to respond.
“Russia’s extensive use of hybrid measures increases the risk that NATO will eventually consider invoking its Article 5 mutual defense clause,” Indian. “At the same time, the ever-increasing increase in Russian military potential means that a direct military confrontation with NATO becomes a possible option for the Kremlin,” he added.
The statements come after several episodes of sabotage in the Euro-Atlantic area, ranging from cyber attacks to arson, something that Moscow has rejected on more than one occasion. However, from the analysis of high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Defense They doubt that the application of Article 5 will occur.
“We still have no indication that Russia intends to go to war, but if such sentiments gain ground in the Moscow government, then the risk of a military confrontation will grow in the coming years,” said the head of the Security Service. German intelligence, which believes that if Russia attacks the West, It will only be to test your red lines and defeat Western and NATO unity.
“In Russia’s view, this objective would be achieved if Article 5 were waived in the event of a Russian attack,” he said. “To achieve this objective, it is not necessary to send tank armies to the west, it is enough to send little green men to the Baltic countries to protect the supposedly threatened Russian minorities or adjust the borders in Sbalvard,” he finally stated. “I think we need to take this a lot more seriously…we’re just being polite“commented the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen.
