“When I asked them why they launch these provocative actions in the air, approaches or close flights of warships in the Black Sea or the Baltic Sea, their answer was: ‘Because we can’. It is exactly this type of behavior that we are allowing”, laments the Czech president, former leader of the NATO military committee
Czech President Petr Pavel called on NATO to “show its teeth” at Russia, following Moscow’s repeated attempts to test the Atlantic alliance’s resolve.
Speaking to , the Czech leader expressed frustration with the US’ “lack of determination” to continue putting pressure on the Russian regime, calling for a “sufficiently decisive” response, even admitting “asymmetric” retaliation, if necessary.
Shutting down the internet, cutting off Russian banks from global financial systems and shooting down aircraft that violate allied airspace are all options open to Pavel, even if this could involve more aggressive retaliation from the Kremlin.
“Russia, unfortunately, does not understand cordial language. They understand above all the language of force, ideally accompanied by action. If violations of NATO airspace continue, we will have to make the decision to shoot down an aircraft, manned or unmanned,” he said.
Despite ruling out offensive measures that result in the death of people, Pavel agrees with the adoption of actions “definite enough to make Russia realize that this is not the path it should follow”.
And he detailed two more proposals: “For example, turning off the internet or satellites – we saw the difference that Starlink makes on the battlefield – or cutting Russian banks out of the financial system.”
The call for a firmer stance from NATO members comes after Pavel acknowledged that there are military leaders “laughing” at the paralysis in the military collective’s decision-making.
“When I asked why they launch these provocative actions in the air, close approaches or overflights of warships in the Black Sea or the Baltic Sea, their answer was: ‘Because we can.’ It is exactly this type of behavior that we are allowing”, highlighted the former chairman of the NATO military committee with years of experience in contacts with Moscow.
According to the president of Czechia, Russia will have learned to deal with the mechanisms of the alliance, after the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, acting in a way that “almost reaches the threshold of NATO Article 5” – which defines an armed attack against a member of the alliance as an attack on all -, “but always remaining slightly below that level”.
Although the Czech leader did not explicitly refer to Donald Trump, believing that any direct criticism of the United States does not help at this time, Petr Pavel once told the Czech press that Trump “has done more to undermine NATO’s credibility in recent weeks than Vladimir Putin has managed to do in many years.”
But even with US pressure on Moscow that he says is insufficient, Pavel spares no criticism of Europe, claiming that the old continent “awaits mainly what comes from Washington”. “If we don’t present our own proposals, then we appear weak or disoriented,” he added.
The day was also marked by the end of the meeting of NATO foreign ministers, who concluded that, after Washington confirmed that it will continue to reduce troops on the continent.
To journalists, Mark Rutte reaffirmed that “the path” followed “is that of a stronger Europe and a stronger NATO, ensuring that, step by step, we depend less on a single ally”, referring to the USA.
